For those not familiar with the show – Lost revolves around a plane crash on an island where miraculous healings, smoky monsters, mystic magnetic auras, and ghost-like Others from the jungle happen every week. Something mysterious is going on, and the pleasure of the show is seeing the mystery unfold.

(Minor spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen season 3 of the show.)

One of the plot lines this season revolved around three characters (Hurley, Ben, and Locke) finding a mysterious cabin which held the even more mysterious “Jacob.” Jacob is set up as a shadowy but godlike figure, who gives directives to the mysterious Others and apparently orchestrates (or is involved in) all the otherworldly phenomenon of the island. Several episodes set up the idea that if Locke reaches the cabin and talks to Jacob, all the answers will be revealed.

Because this is a TV show, it takes an ENTIRE SEASON for Locke to reach the cabin. However, with three episodes left, Locke finally reaches the cabin. With about five minutes to go in the show (a sure sign that a cliffhanger is coming), he lights a lamp and enters. He sees darkness, and a figure in a rocking chair greets him from the shadows. He raises the lamp, moves closer, and the figure leans forward, to show that it is in fact…

NOT JACOB.

So, no answers for that show. No larger mysteries revealed. In fact, Locke’s meeting only raises new questions (and thus plot threads) which need to be resolved before the show’s end next season.

When I saw that Jacob was not there, I knew the writers of Lost were treading water. Locke had met the goal that had been set up over about three story arcs on the show, and STILL there was no resolution

There’s only one more season, and I’ve watched every episode so far, so I’m hooked for the duration. Hopefully by the end of the show we’ll get to see Jacob more closely, and get answers to the questions.

Some quick research on Google brought up this information (bolding mine):

 There are four categories of these brainwaves, ranging from the most activity to the least activity. When the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities, it generates beta waves. These beta waves are of relatively low amplitude, and are the fastest of the four different brainwaves. The frequency of beta waves ranges from 15 to 40 cycles a second. Beta waves are characteristics of a strongly engaged mind. A person in active conversation would be in beta. A debater would be in high beta. A person making a speech, or a teacher, or a talk show host would all be in beta when they are engaged in their work.

The Brainwaves

The next brainwave category in order of frequency is alpha. Where beta represented arousal, alpha represents non-arousal. Alpha brainwaves are slower, and higher in amplitude. Their frequency ranges from 9 to 14 cycles per second. A person who has completed a task and sits down to rest is often in an alpha state. A person who takes time out to reflect or meditate is usually in an alpha state. A person who takes a break from a conference and walks in the garden is often in an alpha state.

The next state, theta brainwaves, are typically of even greater amplitude and slower frequency. This frequency range is normally between 5 and 8 cycles a second. A person who has taken time off from a task and begins to daydream is often in a theta brainwave state. A person who is driving on a freeway, and discovers that they can’t recall the last five miles, is often in a theta state–induced by the process of freeway driving. The repetitious nature of that form of driving compared to a country road would differentiate a theta state and a beta state in order to perform the driving task safely.

Individuals who do a lot of freeway driving often get good ideas during those periods when they are in theta. Individuals who run outdoors often are in the state of mental relaxation that is slower than alpha and when in theta, they are prone to a flow of ideas. This can also occur in the shower or tub or even while shaving or brushing your hair. It is a state where tasks become so automatic that you can mentally disengage from them. The ideation that can take place during the theta state is often free flow and occurs without censorship or guilt. It is typically a very positive mental state.

The final brainwave state is delta. Here the brainwaves are of the greatest amplitude and slowest frequency. They typically center around a range of 1.5 to 4 cycles per second. They never go down to zero because that would mean that you were brain dead. But, deep dreamless sleep would take you down to the lowest frequency. Typically, 2 to 3 cycles a second.

Full article at: http://www.web-us.com/brainwavesfunction.htm

Intriguing – this is a good way to think about the mental activities going on during the day.  It sounds like the “ideal” state is to generate beta waves, use theta waves while relaxing, and minimize theta waves.

Strange – looks like there are now two types of Supermen. Maybe one is the goody two shoes Silver Age, and one is a more modern or futuristic version.

Also, a relatively content-free teaser for the “New Frontier” cartoon with the DC superheroes:

The Washington Post adds even more hints on the Catholic Mass imagery in the episode.

“I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there,” he says of the final scene.

“No one was trying to be audacious, honest to God,” he adds. “We did what we thought we had to do. No one was trying to blow people’s minds, or thinking, ‘Wow, this’ll (tick) them off.’ People get the impression that you’re trying to (mess) with them and it’s not true. You’re trying to entertain them.”

Come on – only a fool would think that fans wouldn’t be disappointed by such an ambiguous ending.

Therein lies the problem with the show – it’s now obvious that the showrunners had no end game in mind. Plot lines were set up but never concluded, nothing built up, and there was no satisfying wrap up.  It seems to be the norm these days to tease the audience with endless mystery, but a series finale should serve as the grand finale and at least wrap up the major plotlines of the show.

The first season finale ended well. Tony’s hidden rage against his mother boiled into a near-suicidal hospital attack, and concluded with a combination of his two “families.” With all the dream episodes, Johnny Sack misadventures, and Steve Buscemi diversions of the past few seasons, I almost forgot that the show was originally about a mob boss trying to balanace his personal family (Carmela and the kids) with his mob family (Paulie, Silvio, and the other ne’er do wells), while trying to keep the overlapping family (Junior and Livia) from taking him out.

Hard to believe that a show that came in with a bang would go out with such a whimper.  However, at least it resulted in this hilarious mashup of Battlestar Galactica finale as directed by David Chase.

But I had lowered my expectations before the finale aired, so I wasn’t too underwhelmed.

It happened during the “grand” finale of the episode set in the future – where Hiro Nakamura (the hero who can travel in time) traveled to a future where the explosion wiped out most of New York and caused a slightly dystopian future.  The future episode ended with a showdown between Sylar and Peter (the ultimate hero of the show, if there is one).

The last scene of the show had several heroes barricaded inside a room, with Sylar trying to break in.  Peter shows up and challenges Sylar. Sylar taunts Peter and ignites his fists in blue flame, and Peter responds by producing red fireballs around his hands.  They stride towards each other – and the camera cuts back inside the room, where the heroes inside talk while blue and red flashes begin pounding behind the metal barricade.

And at that moment I set my expectations for Heroes lower, because I saw that the showrunners needed to create a visual that accommodated the show’s budget rather than one that would impress the viewer.

Sure enough, the finale of Heroes should have been a half hour epic showdown between the multiple powers that had been showcased throughout the season, but was instead a standard television fight that involved the superpowered Peter punching the superpowered Sylar punching each other in the face.  These guys can throw people around with telekenisis – aren’t they way too advanced for a fistfight?

So, Heroes was a bit of a letdown.  You only get the chance to tease the audience once – I doubt people will be as fanatic about Heroes Season 2 as they were in the first season, which built the story up to an ultimately unsatisfying conclusion.

1. Minimize Television Watching
2. Exercise
3. Read Challenging Books
4. Early to Bed, Early to Rise
5. Take Time to Reflect

Overall, sounds like good advice – the kind that seems self-evident once you read it.

Here’s how I stack up:

1. Minimize Television Watching – I could do better at this, and now that most of my shows (30 Rock, Heroes, The Office, etc) have ended I should have more nights free. For me this is related to number 3 – I’ve been mired in a poorly written book for the past few weeks but should probably learn to put down a book once I realize it’s going nowhere.
2. Exercise - I was in a pretty good workout habit until about a month ago. I still do pilates once a week but could hit it more often.
3. Read Challenging Books – Just finished A God in Ruins, currently rated as 1.5 stars on Amazon (with good reason). I’m now one part done with the thought-provoking Values in a Time of Upheaval, and am addicted to Solaris after only one chapter.
4. Early to Bed, Early to Rise – I was doing well on this for a while. This also relates to points 1 and 3 – I’ve gotten in the habit of watching TV reruns late into the night rather than reading before bed. After a while I’m just cleaning out the Tivo one half-hour at a time, rather than enriching my mind with good literature.
5. Take Time to Reflect – In my case, this takes the form of the Liturgy of the Hours twice a day, as well as long walks through Boston at night.  The other night I went on a bit of a walkabout around Boston without even using my iPod, and entered my place feeling refreshed.

So – overall I should watch TV less, work out and read more, and move my circadian rhythm up an hour or two.

Like so many other cartoons of the 80s, the opening intro was probably the best animated part of the show, which was otherwise a He-man clone translated to the Wild West.

I completely forgot about this cartoon till now.  Then again, I’m not sure why I’d think of it.  You never hear statements at lunch like “Deputy Fuzz was indeed better than Snarf, but lacked Orko‘s gravitas.”

I briefly indulged my nostalgic haze at Wikipedia and of course the eerily large fan site (which has been around long enough to upgrade to “version 2.0″).  I am once again amazed at the Internet’s ability to provide the exact amount of information I need to satisfy my 80s cartoon fix.

MAJOR spoilers below, so keep reading only if you’ve seen every BSG to date.  I’ve avoided references to the Ain’t It Cool News spoilers for those who still need to see the final episode of this season.

SPOILERS

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My theory: They’re All Cylons.

All humans on BSG are Cylons. Every one is a unique model, with a corresponding model waiting to be resurrected on “Earth.” When a human dies (as Starbuck did two episodes ago) he or she wakes up on Earth.  All beings known as “Cylons” are actually outdated models of Cylon; the real Cylons are the 13th colony of humans which now exist on Earth in an advanced state of existence.

If true, here are my answers to the major questions of the show:

Is Starbuck dead?
Starbuck did “die” when her body exploded in the maelstrom, but immediately woke up on Earth on the 13th colony equivalent of a resurrection ship.  This is the thing that she was destined to do – be the first human to pass over to the other side (Earth, where the 13th colony lives) and meet the humans living there.  This is why she says “they’re waiting for me” before her ship explodes, why Leoben (her Cylon stalker) keeps telling her death is not hard to embrace, and why she will see Lee “on the other side.”

I predict Starbuck will return in some form, to lead the BSG humans back to Earth.

Do other people know they’re Cylons?

Sort of.  Chief Tyrol and Baltar have already thought they were Cylons, and if Ain’t It Cool is accurate, more people will think they’re Cylons before the season ends.

However, the truth is that everyone’s a Cylon – it’s just that some of them are more sensitive to their Cylon nature than others.  Until someone dies (and wakes up on Earth in a new body) they don’t realize their true Cylon nature.

This, again, fits in with Starbuck’s destiny – to show the humans on Galactica that the true way to Earth is through death (and resurrection).

If everyone’s a Cylon, what’s with the current Cylons (Six, Leoben, the Priest, etc)?

Right now there are seven humanoid Cylons we know about, and a set of “final five” Cylons that have been seen in a vision.

The current Cylons (like Six) are an outdated model of Cylon.  These humanoid Cylon have “tribes” that all look alike – all the Sixes are blond models, all the Threes look like Lucy Lawless, etc.  However, the “13th tribe” represents a new breed of Cylon which have evolved to have individual looks – so there is a model for a Chief Tyrol, but ONLY ONE unit looks like a Chief Tyrol.  If Tyrol were to die in the hangar bay, his consciousness would be downloaded to a Tyrol unit on Earth and would wake up in a new Tyrol-shaped body.

I’d further hypothesize that the 12 tribes that currently exist in the humans  are analogous to the 12 tribes of Cylons.  So the Caprican tribe of humans on Galactica is actually a race of worker Cylons – each one on Galactica corresponding to a unit existing in the 13th tribe on Earth.

What’s going to happen?

The 13th tribe is waiting for Galactica humans and Cylons back on the real Earth.  They’ll send Starbuck to BSG to guide the way home.

The current Cylons (Six, etc.) are in the dark about the 13th tribe Cylons waiting on Earth.  Over the next season they will continue to chase Galactica through space, as the true nature of the Earth Cylons is revealed.

More people on BSG will start thinking they’re Cylons.   Debate will rage on message boards and wikis about who is and isn’t a Cylon, until all are revealed to be Cylons.

Possibly, the last episode of the series will end with BSG and all the humans dying… only to be reborn in new bodies on Earth.  This would fit in with the overall theme of spirituality and resurrection that’s run throughout the series so far.

END SPOILERS

To say more would spoil next week’s grand finale, so I’ll hold off on saying more till the episode has aired.