obsession

When Lost returns this Tuesday for the beginning of the end of the series, one of the biggest questions that has to be answered concerns John Locke. Is he dead or not? Has he been dead all along and someone/something else was taking his place? What is the real story of John and why was he chosen for the role he has on the island and off?

Well, part of the fascination with Locke is the way Terry O'Quinn has played the character. O'Quinn is a dynamic and compelling actor. And if you want to get a great look at just how good Terry is, take a look at the recently released reissue of a small, independent film he made in 1987 called The Stepfather. The DVD presents a much younger Terry O'Quinn -- he was 35 at the time -- as Jerry Blake. And Bill Hodges. And Henry Morrison.

You know, just when you thought you've seen the funniest episode of The Office, you get blown away by the next one. This one was IMHO the best episode yet this season. The writers will be hard-pressed to come up with a better story than this one.

The office staffers bring their little girls (and even including Meredith's son) to the Dunder Mifflin office for "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," and Michael lets it known that he is uncomfortable having kids around the office. If any of you reading this have ever worked in an office setting, you may well agree that having kids come in--yours and your co-workers'--almost always turns into chaos, no matter how cute and adorable they are.

Love is in bloom at The Office as it is Valentine's Day. We first see Pam (with her new hairdo that makes her look even more attractive than ever) describing what is going on, and then Phyllis gets a huge bouquet of flowers from her boyfriend Bob. We then learn that Michael is set to leave for New York City for a big meeting with other branch managers and Dunder Mifflin's CFO. Plus, he mentions that his boss Jan, with whom he hooked up with a few months before, will be there, and he slyly mentions the fact that it is Valentine's Day.

Jim then discusses his plans for the evening--since he broke up with his girlfriend a few weeks back, he's looking to get a few guys together to play some poker. Meanwhile, Dwight gets a box that contains a bobblehead doll of himself. He is absolutely thrilled, and we see Angela, normally very tightly wound, smile. We then learn that office chatterbox Kelly hooked up with Ryan, and she can't stop talking about it to Jim, who seems uncomfortable with the whole situation.