Smoke Monster From 'Lost' Given Own Primetime Spin-Off Series

Smoke Monster From 'Lost' Given Own Primetime Spin-Off Series

BURBANK, CA—Executives at ABC announced Monday that the network will premier a new Lost spin-off series this fall based around that show's popular smoke monster character.

The smoke monster, a fan favorite.

The new series, a half-hour family-oriented comedy called Where There's Smoke, is touted by ABC as the new anchor of its Thursday-night lineup.

"Somewhere between the smoke monster's first appearance on Lost— when it was depicted as a strange unseen force uprooting trees—and that episode in season three where it grabbed Mr. Eko and smashed him against the ground until he was dead, this character became the breakout star of the show," said Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. "And that's exactly why we're so excited about Where There's Smoke. We get to see the monster's light comedic side in a show about life, love, and good friends having good times."

"Because after all, Where There's Smoke, there's laughter," McPherson added.

Lea Thompson (Caroline In The City) costars with the ominous cloud (Lost) in its new ABC sitcom this fall.

ABC sources reported that the series will transplant the evil black cloud from the island of Lost to the suburbs of Chicago, where it works as a sports radio host, surrounded by "a whole new group of crazy characters." Actress Lea Thompson has signed on to play the monster's long-suffering wife, who must put up with her husband's screwball antics while raising the couple's two rambunctious children, Tanner and Smoky, Jr.

Veteran TV producer Chuck Lorre, of Dharma & Greg and The Big Bang Theory fame, will helm the show, which he said will focus mainly on the deadly creature's adjustments to suburbia and fatherhood, and its comically contentious relationship with its boss, a fussy radio station manager played by Richard Kind.

"The whole concept began with us asking, 'So what happens to the monster after it kills somebody and disappears down that ancient temple vent? What kind of life might it have?'" Lorre said. "And what we realized is that audiences really relate to this character and would like to see it in everyday situations, shooting the breeze with buddies at a local watering hole or murdering its son's soccer coach and depositing his lifeless body in a tree."

"And of course, you'll be hearing lots of its classic catchphrase, 'Brrrrr, chk-chk-chk-chk, muuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrhhh,'" Lorre added.

Lost producer Jack Bender has confirmed that the smoke monster will no longer be part of his show's regular cast. However, ABC has promised that Where There's Smoke will feature a number of guest appearances from Lost regulars. Sources said the pilot episode will feature an appearance by actor Michael Emerson as a slobby houseguest named Benjamin Linus who overstays his welcome, much to the chagrin of the smoke monster's wife.

Though the project has been in development for almost a year, negotiations reached a standstill last winter when representatives for the mysterious, billowing actor expressed concern that their client would risk being typecast as "just a smoke monster" if the role were carried into a new series.

"We're always sensitive to these kinds of things, but we actually think this new vehicle will make people realize [the monster] is a sophisticated actor with a great deal of range," said McPherson, who agreed to pay the show's star $2 million per episode after scenes between the smoke monster and a nosy, ethnic next-door neighbor tested well with audiences. "People love the smoke monster, and people love to laugh. This series is a can't-miss."

Added McPherson, "And I'm not just blowing smoke here."

**From The Onion

This Day In Sports - May 28th

2006 -- Barry Bonds hits his 715th career home run, bypassing Babe Ruth as the second-most prolific home run hitter in baseball history.
1957 -- The National League approves the move of both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants to the west.
1951 -- Giants rookie Willie Mays gets his first hit in the majors, a 450-foot home run off Braves hurler Warren Spahn
*from si.com*


Article of the Day:
From startribune.com

Tarkenton: Favre's actions 'despicable'

The greatest quarterback in Vikings history had harsh words for the player who broke many of his NFL records.

By JUDD ZULGAD, Star Tribune

Last update: May 27, 2009 - 9:51 PM

Former Vikings great Fran Tarkenton would like to see Brett Favre end his retirement to play quarterback in Minnesota. But that isn't because Tarkenton wants to see Favre succeed.

"I kind of hope it happens, so he can fail," Tarkenton told an Atlanta radio station Tuesday.

Tarkenton, who lives in Atlanta and does only occasional interviews, did not hold back with his disgust when talking about how Favre has handled himself since announcing his first retirement from the Green Bay Packers in March 2008. The Hall of Fame quarterback was far more critical of Favre than he was of the Vikings for expressing interest.

"I think it's despicable. What he put the Packers through last year was not good," Tarkenton told 790 The Zone. "Here's an organization that was loyal to him for [16 years], provided stability, provided players. It just wasn't about Brett Favre. In this day and time, we have glorified the Brett Favres of the world so much, they think it's about them. He goes to New York and bombs. He's 39 years old. How would you like Ray Nitschke in his last year [playing for] the Vikings, or I retire, and go play for the Packers?"

Tarkenton played for the Vikings from 1961 to '66 and from 1972 to his retirement after the 1978 season. He went 0-3 in Super Bowls with the Vikings but finished as the NFL's career leader in several categories, including passing yards (47,003) and touchdown passes (342). Favre now holds both of those marks.

Tarkenton, 69, might have been a little strong in his assessment of Favre's play with the Jets last season. The Jets, who acquired Favre during training camp, went 8-3 before losing four of their last five games and missing the playoffs. Favre retired after the season in part because of a partially torn biceps in his throwing arm that appears to be the main reason he hasn't yet decided if he will return.

Favre's agent, Bus Cook, did not return a message seeking a reaction to Tarkenton's comments.

What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue - Part 3

Biblical Identities?
One of the biggest questions that we were left to ponder at the end of season 5 were the identities of Jacob and his friend The Man In Black (TMIB). As I mentioned in my previous post (What Lies in The Shadow of the Statue - Part Deux) there has been a heavy influence of Biblical references intertwined within the entire series of LOST. One of the possible ideas as to the identity of Jacob and TMIB is that of Jesus and Satan. Looking back at all we know of them from the season finale there are some definite similarities between what we know of these characters and their biblical counterparts.



Jacob:
Right from the beginning of the episode we were able to see some similarities between Jacob and Jesus that were glaring on the surface. We see Jacob at the beginning of the episode weaving thread and making a tapestry, a task that is usually given to the common folk similar to Jesus being a carpenter. We then see Jacob catching a fish, Jesus was known as a "fisher of men." We also see that Jacob was residing in a cave within the foot of the statue that resembled the tomb in which Jesus was buried in. As far as we know, this is also Jacob's final resting place as he was killed here and kicked into the fire by TMIB posing as "Locke." When we look back at the interactions that Jacob had with each of our Losties, we can see correlations between Jacob's actions and that which we know about Jesus. When he visits Kate in the grocery store he steps in as the store clerk was about to call the police and says, "No need to do that. I'll pay for it." Jacob conspicuously paid for Kate's sin in this situation. When Jacob visited Sun and Jin and their wedding he gave them his "blessing" and when he visited Hurley he told him that he was indeed not cursed but was special and in fact "blessed." The most telling of these visits was when Jacob visited John Locke the day that his father pushed him out of the window. Locke fell 8 floors onto his back and was laying lifeless as Jacob approached him. When Jacob touched John's shoulder, John came back to life, albeit paralyzed but alive.

Looking a little deeper we can see even more comparisons between Jacob and the Biblical Jesus. When "Locke" was leading the Others to see Jacob "Lock" and Ben had a conversation in which Locke was questioning Ben's devotion to Jacob stating that he was "following a man that he had never seen." This is a similar situation for Christians who hold faith in a man that they have never seen. The manor in which Jacob was killed was also similar to that of Jesus' death. In the Bible Jesus was killed when his followers turned on him, Jacob was killed by Ben Linus a former follower who turned against him. There were also two key phrases which lead us to accept the similarities between Jacob and Jesus. There have been a few references in previous seasons to a phrase that says, "God loves you as he loves Jacob." Knowing that God's love for all of his people is equal, and knowing "Jesus loves me this I know," this sentence would make sense if it were "God loves you as he loves [his own son, Jesus]." We were also introduced to a sort of code word this season with the answer to the question, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Richard Alpert answered this questions by saying, "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" translated to say "He who will save us all." It has been said that Jesus will return to the earth and save all who believe.

T.M.I.B.:
There is also a distinct correlation between the actions of TMIB and those of Satan. In the book of Genesis, Satan took the form of a serpent and deceived Adam and Eve causing them to turn their backs on the Lord who had provided for them causing them to be ashamed and banishing them from the Garden of Eden. In the past we have seen Ben Linus and Charles Widmore (acting as a sort of Adam and Eve) be banished from the island. We also see TMIB commit his own deception by taking the form of John Locke and deceiving Ben Linus into betraying Jacob and ultimately killing him. We have also learned from podcasts and the "blast door map" that the smoke monster is referred to as Cerberus. In ancient Greek mythology, Cerberus was the three headed dog creature that guarded the gates of Hades keeping those who were sent there in and keeping those from the earth out. This guardian of Hades is also a similar characteristic to that of the devil.

Another Biblical Possibility:
Another Biblical reference that people are suggesting could reveal the identity of Jacob and TMIB could be that of the Biblical Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were brothers who had very different view points and often feuded. Throughout their lives they quarrelled and deceived each other along with their father. People commonly draw to this possibility because of Jacob's name, but again this seems too obvious to be a legit possibility coming from the writers of LOST. For five years now they have shocked us and if this turned out to be true, there would be not shock. Thus I am dismissing this as a possibility.

Conclusion:
Although there are some obvious similarities between these characters on the show and that of Jesus and the devil, it feels like it's too obvious of a correlation to actually come to fruition within the realms of the show. After having millions of fans pour 6 years of their lives into this show, I think that having a strictly Biblical theme as the underlying secret of the show would be a bit too controversial for any mainstream prime time show. I can't completely rule anything out, but I am not putting my chips in this basket.

More to come on Jacob and TMIB, stay tuned!

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just fill in the comment box at the end of each blog and let me know what you think! To read more posts and see my entire blog click the Touch 'Em All Productions header at the top of the page!

This Day In Sports - May 26th

1988 -- Edmonton Oilers sweep Boston Bruins to win Stanley Cup.
1985 -- Danny Sullivan wins Indianapolis 500 by 24 seconds after spinning out.
1959 -- Pirates' Harvey Haddix loses to Milwaukee Braves after pitching 12 perfect innings.
*from si.com*




The NBA playoffs continue to impress. Denver evened things up last night beating the Lakers by 19pts in Colorado and will hopefully continue to outplay the Lakers as the series heads back to LA. The one thing that the Nuggets have going for them is that they are playing much better team basketball and moving the ball around to get an easy bucket or wide open shot. The Lakers have the "Cleveland Cavaliers syndrome" and just fall back on getting the ball to Kobe and making him force up a contested shot. Fortunately for them it's been working ok, with Kobe averaging 29.8 points per game. But if they have aspirations of the NBA Finals this needs to be remedied.

The Twins got things back on track a little bit this weekend sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend and giving Boston a run for their money Monday. But the story of the weekend/story of the season thus far has been the dominance only known as Joe Mauer. After sitting out the first month of the season Joe debuted on May 1st hitting a home run on his first swing of the season. This set the tone for the rest of the month as Mauer has hit .444, with 11 HRs, and a .914 slugging percentage. WOW! With 31 RBI to this point in the month of May Mauer broke the MN Twins record for most RBI in the month of May leaping past Twins Great Harmon Killebrew with five more games in the month. It should be an exciting season if things continue to follow this line.

This Day In Sports - May 22nd

1957 -- Red Sox set American League record by smashing four home runs in sixth inning in 11-0 win.
1977 -- Red Sox (six) and Brewers (five) tie single game home run record of 11.
1993 -- Riddick Bowe TKOs Jesse Ferguson in 2 for heavyweight boxing title.
*from si.com*

American Idol - Final Post

Kris Allen Wins American Idol!
My first season of American Idol Speculation has officially come to an end. And what an end at that! After a season full of the judges and producers plugging Adam Lambert, Kris Allen comes out of nowhere to win the title! A good surprise ending to a good season. The show itself was pretty entertaining as well. Listen to this lineup: Keith Urban, Lionel Richie, KISS, Queen, Rod Stewart, Santana, Jason Mraz, Fergie, The Black Eyed Peas, Cyndi Lauper, David Cook, Queen Latifah. WOW! Talk about a few big names! All in all I think that the publicity that Adam was receiving had backfired on him a bit and his "edgy" style did not fit the tastes of mainstream America. I gained some respect for Adam Lambert last night as he was genuinely excited for Kris and really showed America what kind of a guy he is! No worries though, he will go places in life and be just fine! I am interested to see where Danny Gokey and Kris Allen go from here. I would be interested in both of their Cd's, if they have one. I guess we'll see! Until next year, I bid American Idol adieu!

What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue - Part Deux (or 2)

Things to Note Before Embarking on Theories
Before I jump in and start theorizing about Jacob and The Man In Black (TMIB), there are a few things that we should be reminded of regarding these two characters. Some of these may be important to future predictions and theories, while some are just ideas that are good to remember when embarking on the remainder of the series.

• Jacob's Touch - as noted in my previous post (Part 1), the producers made it very clear to us through unique and focused camera angles that Jacob made contact with each and every one of our Losties. Was this just a slight of hand or something that we were 'supposed' to notice?
  
• There's always more to beach conversations then that which meets the eye - When TMIB and Jacob were having their conversation at the beginning of the finale (episode 5.16, The Incident pt. 1) it was obvious the two of them were in the midst of some sort of competition and Jacob had arranged for some 'players' in the game (the Black Rock) to come to the island. They hate each other and for some reason they cannot kill each other.
• Yin and Yang - there have been heavy doses symbolism within the idea of 'black' and 'white' throughout all seasons of the show. We'll start with back in Season 1: Upon the discovery of Adam and Eve, Jack found a pouch which contained one black rock and one white rock (episode 1.06, House of the Rising Sun). Locke was explaining the game of backgammon to Walt, he said it is a game with "two players. Two sides. One is light, one is dark" (episode 1.02, Pilot pt. 2). Claire had a dream in which John Locke had one black eye and one white eye (episode 1.10, Raised By Another).
  Season 2: The Swan and all future Dharma logos are black and white. The numbers in the hatch are two mirror representations of black and white (episode 2.02, Adrift). We find out that Rose's husband Bernard is not black but white (episode 2.04, Everybody Hates Hugo). Bernard uses black volcanic rock coupled with the white sand for the S.O.S. sign (episode 2.19, S.O.S.). Season 3: We see a white Dharma bunny with a black number 8 on it's back (episode 3.04, Every Man For Himself). We see Charlie's black and white show floating through the water as he loses it (episode 3.21, Greatest Hits). This one is copied straight from lostpedia.com but it pretty interesting, The Looking Glass is named after a Lewis Carroll book in which the main character Alice has a black mischievous cat that is blamed for all the chaos in her dream and a white cat deemed innocent (episode3.21, Greatest Hits). Season 4: Again Locke is seen playing backgammon with the black pieces whilst Sawyer plays with the white (episode 4.04, Eggtown). Juliet's Garden shows two stones in it, a black and a white (episode 4.06, The Other Woman). Jin runs around town looking for a panda bear, a black and white bear (episode 4.07, Ji Yeon). Hurley and Eko play chess with black and white pieces (episode 4.13, There's No Place Like Home). Season 5: Jacob wears a white shirt on the beach as TMIB wears, obviously, a black one (episode 5.16, The Incident). For four seasons and 15 episodes we have seen the LOST logo in white font with a black background and at the end of episode 5.16, The Incident, it was flip flopped with black letters and a white back ground. I have also been sporadically watching through past seasons with my buddy and there are many many instances of the black and white contrast within the outfits that people are wearing on the island and off. With this amount of occurrences and many more that I did not mention, it's clear that there is something to this black vs. white or good vs. evil plot line.
• Our Father Who Art in Heaven - Since the very beginning of the show there has been a high level of Biblical influence in the stories, the characters, and the episodes. In a number of episodes we have seen the camera focus on Bibles that were either being sold, being read, or on the book shelf. To date there have been 5 episodes that have had biblical references in their name (Numbers, Exodus pt. 1 & pt. 2, The 23rd Psalm, Fire + Water [Matthew 3:11], Stranger in a Strange Land [Exodus 2:22]). The character Mr. Eko carried a walking stick which had Bible verses carved all over it. There is also a plethora of Biblical names within the show (Aaron, Jacob, Naomi, Daniel). The producers have told us that they put a lot of thought into the names of their characters and each one of them is named for a certain reason.

More to come on Jacob and TMIB...stay tuned!

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just fill in the comment box at the end of each blog and let me know what you think! To read more posts and see my entire blog click the Touch 'Em All Productions header at the top of the page!

This Day In Sports - May 21st

1948 -- New York Yankee Joe Dimaggio hits for cycle.
1966 -- Muhammad Ali TKOs Henry Cooper in six for heavyweight boxing title.
1996 -- Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens beats Yankees for his 200th win.
*from si.com*

American Idol 2009 - Finals Review

American Idol 2009 - Finals Review
Let me be the first to congratulate Adam Lambert as being the 2009 Season 8 American Idol. Or wait I can't be the first since Simon, Randy, and Kara have been his victory since early March. But anyways congrats Adam. Last nights performance finale was a downer for me. For the first 40 minutes I was totally digging it. Both performers put on a great show for their first two songs, and then we got to that piece of garbage that Kara came up with better known as No Boundaries. I thought that the music industry had learned its lesson when Miley Cyrus burst onto the scene with The Climb. Sure the song is meant to be inspirational, sure it should garner some positive PR for the show, but come on it was a flat out awful song! I realize that they did not compose this song over the past week, but when your song is completely out of the vocal range of one of the finalists and both of them struggle with it, something is wrong with the song. This coupled with Kara's worthless critiques should warrant her dismissal before next year. It was a good experiment but people like Paula better anyways.

As for the performances I think that Adam and Kris both rocked it in round one. Simon gave the edge to Kris, but in my opinion it was much closer than Simon let on. Adam's Mad World was one of the only songs I enjoyed that he did this season. Round two was hands down one by Adam. Kris played this round too safe for the finals show. It was good and I liked it but it was plain and boring. I'd rather not talk about the third round as it was a complete and utter disappointment. Both of the performances were painful and Kris forgot the words (this could have been the deciding factor). I'm still holding out hope for Kris, but I think that Idol will get their wishes and Adam Lambert will take this years crown. I have been surprised before though...

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just fill in the comment box at the end of each blog and let me know what you think! To read more posts and see my entire blog click the Touch 'Em All Productions header at the top of the page!

This Day In Sports - May 20th

1983 -- Larry Holmes beats Tim Witherspoon in 12 for heavyweight boxing title.
1984 -- Barb Bunkowsky wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Charity Golf Classic.
1994 -- Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan named NBA's MVP.

*from si.com*

I am depressed. I know I am not the only one who foolishly held out hope for a good draft pick last night. We should all know better. I don't believe in curses but this is getting to be ridiculous. 20 years and we've only gone backwards, that's crazy. At least we can all start looking forward to next year's lottery selection show again. I beg you, polish your good luck charms, say your prayers, hope that the wolves will someday break this string of bad luck.

What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue? - part 1

What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue - part 1

After five years of speculation we were finally introduced to the island’s coveted Jacob. But who is Jacob? Or what is Jacob? He seems like a pretty simple man. He obviously admires Rumpelstiltskin as we first see him weaving his own thread and looming a gigantic Egyptian tapestry. As Jacob is casually going about his day on the beach we quickly learn that he is not the lone inhabitant of the 1800s version of the island. A man who remains nameless approaches Jacob to take in the sight of the Black Rock heading towards the island. Since he has not been given a name thus far, we will affectionately refer to as The Man in Black (TMIB). TMIB strolls out of the jungle and takes a seat on a rock near the shore. It becomes obvious to us that these two men are in a bit of a disagreement as they banter back and forth ending with TMIB stating that “They come, they fight, they destroy, and they corrupt. It always ends the same.” To this sentiment Jacob replies by saying, “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.” They only thing that we can deduct from this conversation is that these two men are debating the innate level of goodness in the human race. TMIB seems to think that humans are evil while Jacob is in the process of proving that there is good within the heart of man. This leads us to believe that even though these men are of human form, they are not necessarily human and as we learn more about them, this becomes a fairly obvious fact. TMIB closes this conversation by telling Jacob that he wants to kill him and that someday he will find a loophole that will allow him to do so.

Other Occurrences of Jacob…

As the episode continues we learn more about Jacob and what he has been up to since we last saw him guiding the Black Rock to shore. I’m going to display these chronologically in time, not necessarily as they were seen on the show. For our first occurrence of “Off-Island Jacob” we see a young James Ford (Sawyer) at the funeral of his parents in 1976. As the procession begins to take off we see Sawyer sitting on the steps of the church writing on a sheet of paper. The camera cuts and we see that he is writing his “Dear Mr. Sawyer” letter but his pen runs out of ink. Interestingly enough, Jacob approaches young Sawyer and asks him if he needs a pen. As Jacob is handing young Sawyer the pen the camera zooms in on the transaction and we see that Jacob’s finger comes in contact with young Sawyer’s and they pause one second longer than the transfer would have called for (note this). Jacob gives the kid his condolences and takes off. James’ uncle rolls over and catches him writing the letter and the producers seemed to stress this line from Uncle to James, “What’s done is done.”

We then jump ahead to 1980 and see a young Kate Austen and her childhood friend Tom Brennan as they are plotting to hoist a New Kid’s on the Block lunchbox from a convenience store. This turns out to be the same lunchbox that they use as a time capsule later in life. Kate gets caught by the store clerk who threatens to call her mother and the police when a man interrupts and says “no need to do that. I’ll pay for it. I hope this is enough.” The man, Jacob bends down and asks Kate is she is going to steal anymore and then taps her on the nose before he walks away.

Jumping ahead to somewhere in the late 90s we see Jack and Christian in the middle of surgery. Jack makes a mistake and begins to panic as he realizes that the patient may become paralyzed. At this moment we see Christian teach Jack the “Count to 5” technique to remain composed, a technique that Jack taught to Kate as she was helping sew him back up. After fixing the surgical error, Jack storms out to grab a candy bar from the vending machine. His Apollo bar (the same type of candy that the Dharma Initiative had) gets stuck in the machine and Jack’s frustration boils over as he begins to argue with his father. As Christian says, “Are you sure I’m the one that doesn’t believe in you Jack?” we hear the vending machine kick into gear again. A man sticks his head around the corner and asks Jack if one of the two Apollo bars that came out were his. As Jack claims his bar Jacob’s finger touches Jack’s, similar to the pen exchange with young Sawyer. At this point Jacob delivers another note worthy line regarding the stuck candy bar, “I guess it just needed a little push.”

Early 2000s we see the end of the wedding ceremony of Sun and Jin. We start by hearing the vows between Sun and Jin and then roll over to the reception line where we see one of Sun's Aunts come up and ask them questions regarding the future of their family and their honeymoon. Behind her we see Jacob come up and “give his blessing” to them and tells them to never take their love for granted, all in Korean. While doing this Jacob touches both of them on the arm. Interesting line here came from Jin when he commented on how Jacob’s Korean was excellent.

Again early 2000s we see Jacob sitting on a bench reading Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge ironically as John Locke comes flying out a window and into the ground behind him. Remember, Locke was pushed out the window by his deranged father causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down. As Jacob calmly strolls over to where Locke’s body landed we quickly realize that the current state of John Locke seems to be far beyond paralyzation, his body is completely lifeless as a body that had just fallen eight stories should be. Jacob bends over and touches Locke’s dead body on the shoulder which appears to breathe life back into his body. Locke opens his and eyes Jacob says to him, “I’m sorry this happened to you” and walks away.

Ahead again to 2005 we see Sayid with his wife Nadia as they are out on the town. Discussing where they might go on some sort of trip Nadia looks down into her purse as she is trying to locate her sunglasses. As they begin crossing the street a man summons Sayid back to the corner to help him with directions. Nadia continues digging in her purse and begins to cross the street. This man, Jacob, touches Sayid on the shoulder right as Nadia gets hit by a car and dies. The key line in this scene came from Nadia as she told Sayid to “take [her] home” to be buried.

In 2008 after Hurley was arrested for supposedly murdering 3 people he was acquitted and released from jail. As Hurley crawled into a cab on the corner he realized that that cab was already occupied by a man. That man, Jacob, stuck his head out and offered to share the cab with Hurley as he wasn’t going that far. Hurley soon learns that Jacob was not coming out of jail and is there to see him. Hurley thinks that Jacob is dead and a figment of his imagination again. Hurley tells Jacob that he is cursed, and to this Jacob delivers a key line in this scene. He leans over to touch Hurley on the chest and tells him that he is “blessed” and “not crazy.” Jacob tells Hurley about Ajira flight 316 and reminds him that it is his “choice and he doesn’t have to do anything that he doesn’t want to.” Jacob leaves the guitar with Hurley and dips.

Other Occurrences of TMIB…

Since his conversation at the beginning of the show with Jacob we didn’t see TMIB until the very end of the show, or so we thought…

When John Locke and Ben Linus made their way into the foot of the statue we hear Jacob say, “I see you’ve found your loophole” to Locke. After Jacob is killed we see Ilana and Bram roll up to Richard and they open the crate that they have been carrying around. Out rolls John Locke’s dead body that they claim they have found in a coffin in the plane. As our brains are pumping a mile a minute, one by one the viewers realize that the living a breathing version of John Locke is actually TMIB reincarnating Locke’s body. He has been posing as John Locke and manipulating people in order to fulfill his loophole and kill Jacob.

This post is too long already so I will break the rest of this up into daily pieces. In the coming days I will discuss possible theories regarding Jacob and TMIB and look at how this might relate to the big mystery that is behind the island and the entire show. Stay Tuned!

Please, if you are interested I encourage you to participate and share your thoughts. I would love to get some feedback and hear what each of you took from the day's topic. Just fill in the comment box at the end of each blog and let me know what you think! To read more posts and see my entire blog click the Touch 'Em All Productions header at the top of the page!

'Lost' scoop: Juliet mystery (sort of) solved - ausiellofiles.ew.com

'Lost' scoop: Juliet mystery (sort of) solved

This from ew.com...

And now for some news that should surprise no one: ABC is expected to announce tomorrow that it has picked up a reboot of the camptastic '80s thriller V and that Lost heroine Elizabeth Mitchell is a full-time castmember. Translation: She will not be returning to Lost as a series regular.

However, before you go declaring Juliet DOA from last week's detonated hydrogen bomb, I should point out that this piece of scoop comes with a big but attached: Mitchell's Lost days are not done. Multiple sources confirm that the actress is expected to appear in an unspecified number of episodes next season, so it's entirely possible Juliet survived Jughead and her absence will be explained in another way. (Check out Doc Jensen's column this Wednesday for a comprehensive Juliet theorypalooza.)

This Day In Sports - May 19th

1935 -- NFL adopts an annual college draft to begin in 1936.
1960 -- Juan Marichal debuts as San Francisco Giants pitcher, beats Phillies on one hitter.
1994 -- At 18, tennis star Jennifer Capriati checks into a drug rehab center.
*from si.com*

The Brett Favre saga continued yesterday as reports out of Minneapolis were saying that Favre was set to meet with Dr. James Andrews to discuss surgical options in preparation for surgery in the upcoming days. Ed Werder of ESPN is claiming his sources are telling him just the opposite and obviously since he works for ESPN people are believing him over Charlie Walters of the Pioneer Press. I know I'm not the only one who is getting a little bored with this saga that is Brett Favre. Since his consideration this yearly is solely targeting the Minnesota Vikings I will choose to give his drama a pass.

The Twins played well in New York this weekend yet came up empty handed. With Mauer and Morneau doing their part against the pinstripes the rest of the team greatly underperformed and we are in need of a shakeup in the lineup. In the last seven days Denard Span has 11 strikeouts and is batting just over .200 and Matt Tolbert is not doing much better. It's time to shake the lineup up a little bit Gardy. Throw Gomez back to the top spot for a few games this week, bump Span to the troublesome #2 slot, and bring Casilla back up to pair with Punto in the 8 & 9 spots to bring us back up to the top. I know that we've failed in trying Gomez in the lead off spot before but we need to do something to jump start our bats. Gomez went 2/5 on Sunday and 2/3 in yesterday's game. Maybe promoting him to the lead off spot will boost his confidence and get us some more speed on the bases before the big bats get up to the plate. The other problem that needs to be addressed is the bullpen. I'm not sure what sort of value someone like Delmon Young has on the trade market but we need to make a move to improve our setup pitching. In R.A. Dickey's only start he went 6 innings and held the opponent at bay. Throw Perkins or Blackburn in the bullpen for a little while and shake things up by bringing Dickey back into the rotation. That or call somebody up, but we need to do something and soon.