Best Shows of 2010

While the last three lists were compromised by not being able to pay for stuff, this one was actually probably enhanced - there's a lot of time to sit around watching television when you don't have a job. The last couple of years for TV have seemed a bit dry in comparison to what we had before that, but 2010 was another one for the ages. There were are a couple shows that I unfortunately had to cut to trim this list to ten, although a few will get recognized tomorrow. But these shows in particular entertained me an amazing amount this year. Remember, this is recognizing these shows for the seasons which ended in 2010.

Best of 2010

10. The Venture Bros. (Adult Swim)


The Venture Bros. fourth season was its biggest ever, and while maybe not the best, it was still pretty excellent. After some felt the third season strayed too far into building up its own world and just wasn't funny enough, the fourth struck a nice balance between comedy and mythology, developing further one of the most interesting and detailed science fiction universes to come around in a long time. It's a cartoon so consistently well-written and presented that almost every new episodes feels like it could be a contender for the best one ever, although the hour-long finale had the best case of all.

9. The Pacific (HBO)


Major Dick Winters, former leader of Easy Company and the man Band of Brothers spent the most time focusing on, died last week. Not only was he a great man, but he provided a central character around which possibly the best miniseries ever could build. The Pacific lacked that sort of central figure that the whole thing could be tied back to, but it still managed to match and even exceed its spiritual predecessor in some areas, from the scale and intensity of the battles to the harrowing way the horrors of war are portrayed. It wasn't as great as Brothers, but that's quite a lofty goal, and it was still quite good for most of its run.

8. Sons of Anarchy (FX)


This is the most inconsistent show on the list this year, with a tendency to occasionally go too far with some of its plot threads and have its characters make questionable decisions. But besides #1, it was also the best show at producing exceptional individual moments that make all the hiccups seem totally worth it in the end. Sons of Anarchy's world is a tough place to live, and that's just as evident in this season as the first two, especially in the final episode, which had one of the best conclusions I've ever seen and really helped cement the show as one of my favorites. Best finale all year.

7. Parks and Recreation (NBC)


Parks and Recreation was definitely iffy in its brief first season, but the second was just about brilliant from beginning to end. It reminded people of what The Office was like when it was really cooking and not just the acceptable sitcom it is today, and in some ways it was even better. The central cast isn't as big, but in many respects it's stronger, and whatever wacky idea they were tackling, they just seemed to nail it every week. It's been away for way too long, and I can't wait for its return a week from today.

6. Lost (ABC)


Kind of a drop on this list compared to the last two years, but that's more due to the strength of the competition than anything Lost actually did wrong. Like the show's whole run, its final season wasn't perfect, but its strengths were great enough to overcome issues of unanswered questions or uneven pacing. We got some really great payoffs for all the best characters, and I personally thought the ending was perfectly fitting what they had built up. I'll miss seeing it this spring.

5. Community (NBC)


Technically I'm not including what the show has done so far in its sophomore season, although I will say it really helped cement Community as my favorite comedy currently running. The first was plenty excellent on its own, as it transitioned from a likable Joel McHale vehicle about community college into a stunningly brilliant ensemble comedy about anything and everything. The themed episodes get the most attention, but every week you're bound to see something you weren't expecting. The show is hilarious, but it also manages a lot of sentiment without ever seeming cloying. Just a great show.

4. Mad Men (AMC)


This was my favorite season of Mad Men, and it's slowly creeping up my list of the best stuff you can watch these days. It's not as careful and well considered as it used to be, but it's a lot more enjoyable, with a seemingly conscious effort to make the show quicker, funnier, and more dramatic. It was just a bit dry for me before, but I thought they struck a great balance between entertainment and intelligence this time. And yeah, that finale was pretty crazy. Looking forward to what's next.

3. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)


You could swap this and Mad Men and I'd probably hardly notice, but for now I'm taking Empire by a nose. I think some people find it a bit slow, and while I can tell why, I don't really care because I'm always glued to the screen regardless. The show looks great, it uses violence and sex effectively without seeming too trashy, and I love the way they slowly build up their own slightly fictionalized version of 1920 over the course of the season. It's not quite the powerhouse it might have been and still could be, but it's damn good just the same.

2. Dollhouse (FOX)


A lot of people probably forgot about this already, but Dollhouse's second and last season finished airing way back at the beginning of 2010, and so it goes on this list. Dollhouse had a lot of warts in its first year, but it still ended up as a pretty series by the end of the season, and while season two couldn't help but stumble a bit again, I thought it quickly rounded into the best thing Joss Whedon as been involved with since Firefly and one of the best pieces of science fiction TV period. They really did a lot with what little time they had, and I know for one I won't be forgetting about it for a while.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)


After seeing the final season of The Shield, I decided it was actually better than Breaking Bad's first effort, which is why I can't really say Bad was my favorite thing on TV for three years in a row. But for a while there it was. They stepped up their game yet again in season three, which was both the show's most thrilling and funniest yet. You might be wondering how I could say Anarchy had the best finale all year after Bad's, but the truth is it honestly just felt like another good episode and solid cliffhanger after all the amazing stuff that came before. It seemed like every week they were topping themselves in terms of mind-blowing events that were going on, and they never let you catch your breath. We have to wait a bit longer than usual for season four, but I bet it will be worth it.

Lost - Season 6

What you got out of Lost's final season depended on what you wanted. People have always been intrigued by all the mysteries and twists that have kept them wondering what's really going on, but the creators have insisted for a while that the series is really about the characters. I was just hoping for a good end to the story, and I ended up pretty pleased with what I got. Yeah, I would have liked the opportunity to know more about all the strange things on the island, and in a way it's lazy to introduce all these elements and then just forget about them. But what was more important than answering every question was making a show that was fun to watch, and Lost was very successful in that way. The writing, acting, and direction was top notch for a TV show, it was funny and touching, it had more standout moments than any series rightly deserves, and they found a way to end it that was both fitting and expected.

It's sort of the end of an era for television. It's hard to imagine a new show with its scope getting greenlit by a network these days, and while other shows have had bigger audiences, few if any have had one so dedicated and committed to it. It's like the biggest cult hit ever. It's hard to say how many people gave up along the line, but quite a few stuck it through all the way, and they were rewarded with something unique and memorable. There was quite a it of misinterpretation of the ending going around, but those who can actually pay attention and listen to words know what really happened. It could be a long time before anything like this comes along, but in the mean time it's worth appreciating what the show was, and what it meant. It wasn't just a show, it was a whole pastime for some people. I never spent as much time theorizing and examining past episodes as a lot of them, but when it was actually on it was always a highlight of my week. It's sort of weird to think that there's no more Lost coming, but I know it won't be too long before I'm watching it all again, seeing what actually makes sense now and what never will.

Characters of the Decade: Part 3

Let's keep this crazy train a-rolling. A couple video game characters break through this time.

Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim series


"The future? Like... with jetpacks?"

What's great about Scott is how awesome and totally not awesome he is at the same time. I mean, he's mostly an idiot. He's a bit inconsiderate sometimes about others' feelings and doesn't actually talk to girls that well. They like that though, so it works out for him. Just like most things seem to in the wacky version of Canada they all live in. Despite his faults, there's nothing malicious about him. He just wants to have a good time with his girl, and if that means battling seven evil exes to do it, he's up to the challenge. His combination of genuine skill and dimwitted resourcefulness is endearing, and he's well on his way to being the best 24-year-old ever.

John Locke
Terry O'Quinn - Lost


"Don't tell me what I can't do."

Locke is something of an enigma, but part of what makes the show consistently compelling. If there's anyone who likes the show and wasn't totally convinced by the pilot, then the reveal at the end of his first flashback episode is what hooked them for good. He's one of the more frustrating characters on this list, with his motivations and actions frequently in question. But that's par for the course with Lost characters, and Locke is still always among the most interesting. The last season finale really turned what we should be expecting from O'Quinn on its head, and seeing how the rest of his role plays out will be intriguing for sure.

Carl "CJ" Johnson
Young Maylay - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas


"What can I say? I'm a bad man."

Ever since Grand Theft Auto: Vice City the GTA series has had good protagonists, but so far I've liked CJ the most. One of the good things about him is that your version of him might look nothing at all like the one pictured above. They took out a lot of the customization stuff when they jumped to current gen consoles, but making CJ whatever you wanted him to be was a lot of fun. And he's an interesting, sympathetic person as well, with a really good performance from Young Maylay. There's always a bit of a disconnect when you're doing these action games, with the player guilty of usually hundreds of homicides by the end of the story despite its attempts to make you like them. But if you can just accept it for what it is, they did a really nice job with it.

Alyx Vance
Merle Dandridge - Half-Life series


"Dr. Freeman, I presume?"

There's a difficult balance with Half-Life 2. In the first game, the only characters besides the voiceless protagonist were interchangeable, disposable scientists and security guards. It was very much a game. But with the sequel, they tried to sell you real people that you should be interested in and care about, despite Gordon Freeman's continuing non-functional vocal chords. Alyx was introduced as a frequent companion and possible love interest for Gordon, and despite the odds, it works. Part because of Dandridge's great voice work, and part because of the impressive skill with which the character is written and integrated into the world. There are moments where you wish Gordon wasn't so constricted, but for the most part you forget the limitations and just exist in the game's world with Alyx by your side. Maybe my favorite character in all of gaming.

Dwight Schrute
Rainn Wilson - The Office (US)


"If I were buying my coffin, I would get one with thicker walls so you couldn’t hear the other dead people."

Dwight works in two different ways. The first is bringing a character to the US version that's as suitably nuts as Gareth from the UK show without just copying him, and making him uniquely American. The other, as developing into an actual person over the course of the series' much longer run time. For the most part, Dwight is totally ridiculous. But he has enough scenes that could feature a real human that ingratiate you to him and prevent him from being too over the top. Yeah, right now he has a "diabolical plan" to get Jim fired, but it's all based in genuine desires someone might have. It's a fine line to walk, but I think Wilson and the writers do a good job.

The Doctor
Christopher Eccleston/David Tennant - Doctor Who


"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect... but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff."

I generally preferred Tennant's portrayal of the venerable time lord, but Eccleston did a good job too. The Doctor is one of Great Britain's most beloved characters, and his revival a few years ago seemed to go off without a hitch. It's the mix of good humor and pathos that make him work, as he puts on a happy face when dealing with new situations and foes, but it's really just hiding more demons than any soul should bear. He's a bit of an enigma, because you wonder if the moments where the world is weighing on his shoulders are just moments here and there, or a constant hindrance that he only occasionally lets show. Either way, he's usually a lot of fun to watch, and I look forward to seeing what a new actor can do with the character.

Marv
Mickey Rourke - Sin City


"Would you hurry it up? I ain't got all night."

I don't think the movie really held up that well, but Marv is still pretty great. We know Rourke has a lot of range, but I think I like him most as this sort of cocky tough guy with a good heart. He's uncompromising in his ideals and prone to lapses in judgment, leading to his ultimate doom, but hey, that's what prequels are for. His only concerns are loyalty to people who give him a chance and destroying those who go after the ones he likes. And he's pretty damn funny in a morbid sort of way. I've read all of the comics, and his first story is still the best one.

Charlie Kelly
Charlie Day - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia


"Because I cut the brakes! Wild card, bitches!"

Dennis was definitely my favorite character from the most recent season, but Charlie has been a consistent fan favorite for the show's entire run, and for good reason. He's probably the only cast member you can like as a person, because while they're all idiots, the rest are still functioning idiots who do bad things, while Charlie really is too intellectually stunted to know better. He's sort of like a live action Phillip Fry, somehow able to cobble together a working consciousness despite lacking fundamental mental faculties. He provides most of the show's most over the top moments, and is almost never not up to something funny.

Titus Pullo
Ray Stevenson - Rome


"I was only following orders. Bloody good orders, too!"

In a show filled to the brim with larger than life personalities, Pullo stands the tallest. He's more or less a psychopath, but that's acceptable when you're part of the Roman legion. It's very enjoyable watching him eviscerate an enemy, but he's a lot of fun in a normal life context too, just passing time between battles. Stevenson seems to be building a career out of being violent, but he can do subtle when he needs to, demonstrated admirably in a number of scenes. In fact, my favorite moment with the character was hardly violent at all besides a single murder. Rome thrived off the decadence of its sex and violence, and Pullo was an eager participant in both.

Harry Lockhart
Robert Downey Jr. - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang


"Doesn't that suck? I just hit you for no reason. I don't even know why."

A Scanner Darkly was the first movie I saw Downey in, and I was very impressed with his work there. But this is the film that convinced me I should watch anything he's in. I could almost give the nod to Val Kilmer here because he has so many damn great lines, but Downey's is the better performance and more interesting character. As far as stars of detective stories go, he's among the most flawed, not really knowing what the hell he's doing and ending the case much worse for the wear. His ineptitude is what makes it fun, and his occasional successes make it all worthwhile. He's also probably the worst narrator in film history, and that's another part of why he's great.

Kazuma Kiryu
Takaya Kuroda - Yakuza series


"When you don't pay your debts, I'm what you get."

Other video game characters have more developed personalities or more physical prowess on an objective scale, but none of them are bigger badasses than Kazuma. He's not confrontational by nature, protective of those he knows and willing to discuss things calmly before they get out of hand. But if you insist on violence, he will utterly destroy you with his bare hands. I mean, the guy fights two tigers at once in the second game. His only weakness is an extreme sense of loyalty, which will occasionally get him in situations he can't punch his way out of. But he embodies the sense of respect and honor that makes the Yakuza seem more interesting than the standard mob.

Benjamin Linus
Michael Emerson - Lost


"You guys got any milk?"

I've avoided multiple people from the same thing, but it was too hard here. Ben was only supposed to be around for a couple episodes but he stayed on because the producers liked Emerson so much, and the show hasn't been the same since. One of the most consistently beaten up characters in history (he has to have spent at least half his scenes in bruise makeup, right?), he's still a good villain because of the respect he commands among his allies. Also, because we're never quite sure how much of a villain he really is. He's always creepy and intimidating, but does he maybe have everyone's best interests at heart? We're still not sure yet, but either way he's among the show's most consistently fascinating people.

Continued tomorrow.

Best Shows of 2009

Again, things get on this list by having a season end in the year in question. Even if all but one episode was shown in a different year. Causes some odd situations, but it makes it a bit easier. This was a good year for shows I like, with lots of them either maintaining high standards of quality or bouncing back from relatively sub-par seasons.

Best of 2009

8. Pushing Daisies (ABC)


This is one of those odd situations. ABC failed to renew Daisies for a full second season, so they waited until the middle of the year to unceremoniously air the last three episodes. The show's second run didn't have quite the verve of the first, but it was still a beautifully shot, fiendishly clever, and highly charming show while it lasted. Maybe too cute for some, but it never bothered me.

7. Mad Men (AMC)


I really thought this was the show's best run, showing just how much good stuff there was last year. It featured a few of the series' greatest moments so far, some of its best humor, and some truly game-changing upheaval of the status quo in the last couple episodes. Ultimately though, I want to know what happens now more than I want to revisit what already did.

6. Dexter (Showtime)


The show's best go-round since the first, it wasn't perfect but managed to recapture a lot of what was missing the last time and tell an exciting story again. John Lithgow was probably the best pure villain on TV last year, and there were a number of scenes as shocking, disturbing, and downright just as tense as what you can accomplish in the medium. Plus it was the only thing on this list to have a significant supporting character regularly show her tits, which doesn't hurt. Nah, if that actually mattered True Blood would be here.

5. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)


This year's best comedy, and I'd be tempted to name it the comedy of the decade if it weren't for Arrested Development. It's not as smart or subtle as some network shows, but it's just so damn laugh-out-loud funny all the damn time that you can't not love it. This was the year I feel Dennis overtook Charlie as the best character, but they're all so good that your personal pick doesn't really matter. I kind of wish the seasons were longer, but it might dilute the humor if they had to hire more writers.

4. Kings (NBC)


I kind of wish I had given it a shot when it was still airing. Not that it would have mattered, because I'm just one person and I don't have a Nielsen Box. Of all the shows I saw last year this one could be considered unique, with its own sense of pacing, dialogue, design, and themes. And Ian McShane played what was probably the year's best character. Just watching him pontificate while he shook hands with one arm and held a noose behind his back with the other was a treat every time he was on screen. Farewell Kings, I hardly knew ye.

3. Dollhouse (FOX)


It's really, really too bad FOX insisted on changing Joss Whedon's vision for the beginning of the series, because the consistently low ratings after just a few weak episodes show that it never really had a chance to recover, despite every nerd who kept with it shouting "No really, it's good now!" at everyone they come across. The show came to its own in the back half of season one, and the unaired (in America) finale was a big-time game changer.

2. Lost (ABC)


You can probably pencil this in for a similar place on the list for this year, as my anticipation for the show's final season is approaching a fever pitch and the creators have done nothing but prove they can do this sort of thing better than anything else on TV right now. Despite saying they weren't going to do time travel early on, they ended up instead creating one of the best long term time travel stories I've seen without coming close to overdoing it, and it ends with a few more shocking revelations while setting up what could be a truly special last run.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)


Two straight years at the top of the hill. I don't know how much longer Vince Gilligan and company can keep it up, and it's going to take some doing with Dollhouse currently near the end of possibly the best season of science fiction I've ever seen. Still, I can see them doing it. The second season moved a bit beyond the first's angle, showing the meaning of the title as Bryan Cranston ably depicts a man who's lost sight of what's important and will do increasingly terrible things just to keep a leg up. Few shows manage its combination of genuinely good, intelligent drama and heart-wrenching, brutally intense moments. Just consistently brilliant.

Lost - Season 5

After a couple meandering years, Lost's plot kicked into high gear last year once the end date was in sight and the newest season follows suit, as they're finally starting to give some answers and fill in a lot of gaps instead of just throwing confounding twist after twist at the viewer, half of which will never be explained. There's clearly a conscious effort to explain as much as possible, but they aren't trying to get to everything, which is good because that could easily turn into a mess. As it is, it feels like they're striking the right balance of satisfying fans wanting validation for spending the last few years of their lives watching this show while still taking the time to finish a story they wanted to tell. Abrams (who really doesn't have nearly as much to do with the series as his two co-creators) himself has admitted that it wasn't all planned in the beginning with the medium of television being so fluid, but it's falling into place well enough that you probably could have fooled me for the most part.

While I enjoyed the overall progression of the story as much as in the fourth season, I don't think I enjoyed individual episodes quite as much. Because of some time travel (didn't they say they weren't going to go there?) tomfoolery, the whole gang isn't together on the island anymore, and instead of intercutting all the different settings together they keep it manageable by focusing on a handful at a time. It doesn't affect the quality of any single scene negatively, it's just less of a satisfying experience when you can go weeks without seeing what happens next to someone you're interested in at the moment. It would probably work better if you watched the whole show straight through on DVD at a later date, which I haven't ruled out, it just made the week to week watching a little too disconnected for me. Still, there were some genuinely great moments and episodes throughout, and the finale was probably my favorite of the five so far. There are arguments for others, and I agree that some of the love-triangle stuff going on is tired and annoying by this point, but besides that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and while season three's ending was the best moment of the series, season five's has me the most frustrated that I have to wait nine months for the next part. Only about sixteen hours left before it ends, and I can't wait to see how it does.

Best Shows of 2008

I'm now up to date with enough series that I feel comfortable making a list like this. I don't watch a lot of the most popular series because they don't interest me, but I do see quite a bit. Shows qualify by having a season that ended during the year of 2008. Also, before I forget, I've added a bunch of new archive posts with lists of my favorite things from various years and decades, which unlike these posts, will be kept up to date. Not featured on this list were two products by David Simon and Ed Burns, The Wire's final season and Generation Kill, and the hilarious second run of The Whitest Kids U' Know.

Best of 2008

7. Mad Men (AMC)


I'm not a huge fan of the OMFG MAD MEN bandwagon, but it's still a very good drama with a great cast and production values. I can't tell if they're really going anywhere with the story, but just as far as being a well put together program, it succeeds admirably.

6. The Office (NBC)


One of many shows (pretty much all of them, sadly) that wasn't at its best in 2008, The Office still managed to provide a bunch of laughs and some of the best moments in the whole series. I'm not sure I ever wanted to punch someone in the throat as much as I did Andy when he proposed to Angela, but I only felt worse and worse for him as that subplot progressed. Still a darn good show.

5. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)


Again, not quite the peak of demented genius we saw before, but still pretty damn funny every week. It might just be that they're running out of sensitive topics to make light of, and I wonder what's still left in the tank. Despite that though, I don't think another show this year made me laugh out loud more.

4. The Venture Bros. (Adult Swim)


Few things compare to season two of the best thing Adult Swim's ever done, but season three was close enough. It might not have the same consistent humor as the series did previously, but I find the depth they're adding to the history of pretty much every character to be about as entertaining, and season four's thankfully coming faster than this one did.

3. 30 Rock (NBC)


Still in its creative prime, as Fey and Baldwin both won their second Golden Globes and the show overall won its first. Recalling the best aspects of Arrested Development and The Office, it's a great series that more people really should be watching.

2. Lost (ABC)


While most things seem to be regressing, Lost had its best season since the first, as things finally seem to be on a track heading towards a conclusion, even if we still have no idea what the hell that might be. Flash forwards really reinvigorated it creatively, and it was relatively short, which made every episode sure to count and move things forward.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)


Held aloft by Bryan Cranston's great performance, Breaking Bad's brief (haha, that wasn't on purpose) first season was one of the most emotionally affecting things I've seen on the small screen in a long time, and it had plenty of wit and cool moments as well. The main character's condition make how long it can last a very good question, but it will be back soon for hopefully more greatness.

Lost - Season 4

The fourth season of Lost was shortened by an agreement to draw out the end and shortened further by the inconvenience of the writer's strike (seriously, great job guys), but it was still entertaining enough to be the best one since the first, in my opinion. The last couple seasons were good, but at times didn't seem like they were going anywhere, just piling mystery on top of mystery without giving much explanation. This is the chief complaint about Lost among haters, but the difference between them and me is that they think it's impossible for everything, or even most of the loose ends, to be wrapped up satisfyingly at the conclusion of season six, while I'm still giving the creators the benefit of the doubt. Even if they are making it up as they go, they'd have to be amazingly good at it to keep it going this far without crashing and burning, so it doesn't really make a difference at this point.

Season three's finale was one of television's finest ever, and the final twist was that the flashback featuring a suicidal Jack popping pills and making an ass of himself was actually a flash-forward, a huge shift for the show. Now, instead of filling in characters' backgrounds and digging the show even deeper into its hole of secrets and twists, season four still keeps adding secrets and twists but does so while much more obviously moving towards something of a climax. The suspense was much more focused on "How do we get to this point in the future?" instead of just "What the hell is happening here?" They still flashed back at times, but we pretty much know who these characters are at this point and now we're seeing what's happening with the island. The finale wasn't as good as the last one, but it's definitely going to make the wait for the next batch of episodes difficult. The endless questions do get tiring, but I'm going to keep watching until they start answering some.

Lost - Seasons 1-3

This post will have spoilers, okay? It's hard to talk about Lost without talking about the story.

I wasn't watching much television when Lost burst onto the scene along with Desperate Housewives within a couple weeks of each other and catapulted ABC up in the ratings. The premise seemed cool, but I just wasn't interested much in the medium. In the last year I've gotten much more into some of the more prominent shows, and finally blazed through the first three seasons, catching up just as the last one ended. Lost was a huge hit during the first season, and it's still popular, although the ratings have dipped and some have stopped watching because they aren't answering any real questions or they just don't like where it's going. I haven't minded the constant mystery too much, although maybe the fact I watched it in about a month and not spread out over a few years helped me there. Regardless of the lack of answers, I think I'll see it through to the end, just to see where they're going. It's seemed like maybe they didn't know what they were doing for a while, but now that they know when it's ending, I think we'll see a more solid plan and some real truth at some point.

Lost is always interesting even when not a lot is happening on the island, because of the flashbacks. They're kind of a contrived way to develop your characters, but it's not a problem since they're just so intriguing. One of the strangest things about them is how often characters show up in the background of other characters' flashes. Sometimes they're hints of things that have already been revealed, and sometimes they're just seemingly crazy coincidences, although maybe they will be explained. My favorite example is Hurley being on someone else's TV, a clue before we find out he won the lottery using those mysterious numbers before crashing on the island. The most notorious coincidence in my mind is how often Jack's dad seems to appear in everyone's stories, sometimes prompting them to do things they shouldn't. All of these appearances are one of the more strange things of a show filled with them. They're rather mundane compared to the smoke monster, but there's just too many for it to be normal.

The writers claim that everything in the show can be explained with science, but I have some trouble believing that. They haven't really done anything yet to back that up, and some of the explanations would have to be pretty out there. The smoke monster, for one. And why Desmond is able to predict the future after the electromagnetic discharge. Can he still do it after Charlie's death, or was it just for him? Why does the island have seemingly magical healing powers, and allow some to age but not others? How is an uncharted island apparently so hard to find, yet so many things crash on it? Flight 815 going down seems to have been caused by another discharge, but that doesn't exactly explain it getting torn apart, and everyone inside surviving. Was the drug plane brought down for the same reason? How can they actually explain everything without it being science fiction, and will they even bother to actually explain it all? Some things just seemed random and thrown in because they're weird, like the statue of the four-toed foot. After the crazy finale, can they really add anymore questions before they start answering some? Are they going to bother explaining some things, like Libby's presence in Hurley's mental hospital, or are they just letting that go since she's dead?

Even when the plot is so convoluted, it's easy to keep watching because the characters are so good. In the beginning, Jack seemed like the typical reluctant leader-hero-guy, but over time he's been built up as more and more of a jerk. He's not always fair, and we see in flashbacks that he's a mean drunk and too often pushes people into doing what they don't want to. He is way too stubborn and often closed-minded. He's usually honest, but that's not all it takes to be a good person. Locke kind of pisses me off. His backstory is kind of awesome and at first he seemed like a unique old-guy badass, but he's gone off the deep end and done some truly ridiculous things. He's causing a lot of destruction and death out of his selfish desire to stay on the island. Sawyer's an interesting case. At first, he seemed like a bad guy with a criminal past, but as time's gone on he's become more sympathetic and done a lot more defensible things. Definitely a bit enigmatic. Kate's got a really cool history, although she makes a lot of decisions with really suspect reasoning. The rest of the cast is generally intriguing, sometimes funny, and well acted. The deaths have been around, and they keep things fresh and exciting. I think the number of characters is pretty good right now, and we'll see how the show goes from here. After the reveal at the end of season 3 that at least Jack and Kate made it off the island, I'm really curious about what happens.