rebecca mader

"Welcome to the war." Ben Linus utters those words to John Locke in one of ABC's Lost promos, gun in hand. Since day one, Ben claimed that the freighter folks were going to kill everyone on the island. The show's three-hour finale is only a few weeks away. What do these last episodes of the season hold for the island residents? Can they hold their own against Widmore's team of scientists and thugs? Spoiler Warning: Some details from promos, interviews, and podcasts are mentioned.

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(S04E07) Well, that episode was a real tearjerker. This week on Lost, we met a few more members of the freighter crew, Sun had second thoughts about joining Team Jack, and Bernard got a little screen time. We finally got a look at Ben's inside man on the freighter, too. Things are starting to get weird on the freighter, and I'm beginning to wonder if Sayid and Desmond were safer back on the island.

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(S04E06) I didn't think it was possible, but the Lost writers actually found a way to make Ben creepier. All they had to do was add a "lovesick stalker" dimension to his personality. For a Juliet-centric episode, it seemed like we learned a lot more about Ben than the intriguing Dr. Burke. We also got some significant answers about who's behind the freighter mission--from Ben, of course. Perhaps the only thing Ben doesn't know is how to have a healthy romantic relationship.

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(S04E05) I love Desmond-centric episodes. I never fully understand them, but I love them. Confusing as they are, I believe that they are the key to understanding the island and its unique properties. This was the one of the few Lost episodes this season that didn't flash forward to the future of the Oceanic Six. We didn't get a shocking twist at the end, but we got a lot of new information to consider. It's a relief to know that this season's storytelling won't follow a strict formula. There are so many mysteries, relationships, and settings to explore now; variety is most welcome.

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(S04E04) "Eggtown" gave us more answers and another shocking ending; I could really get used to this. This week, we got a closer look at Team Locke's life at the Barracks, caught a glimpse of Kate's future off the island, and got to catch up with the survivors on the beach--remember them? Not many shows could mix topics like blackmail, grenades, and motherhood into one episode, but Lost pulled it off.

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(S04E03) Three great episodes in a row! Between "The Economist" and Carlton Cuse's promise to deliver five more episodes, Lost is having a great week. The identity of another member of the Oceanic Six was revealed, and that person is keeping strange company in the off-island future. As usual, each big revelation introduced about a dozen more questions, but that's part of the show's charm.

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(S04E02) Watching "Confirmed Dead" was like watching my dream episode of Lost. People asked direct questions for once, some of which were answered within the hour! This episode was all about the Freighties--their lives back on the mainland, their connections to Oceanic 815, and, to borrow a phrase, their "primary objective."

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ABC had garnered a fair amount of press over this one because of the obvious tie-in to the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movie. The big news is that the creators of the movie are back for the TV show. Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Swingers) and Simon Kinberg (X-Men: The Last Stand) have signed on to try and transform their movie to the small screen.

Finally! TNT&G loses a case! And the client--a kid, even--is wrongly accused! Unfortunately, it came too late for me. Last night, as I sat down to write my review of "Crucified", I realized that I loathed the idea of watching another episode of this show. Even though it has been on hiatus for three weeks because of baseball, I did not miss it one bit. As I watched, I realized that I hate this show. And I mean hate.

But as an aside-- was the acting and the writing in this episode especially horrible, or what? The parents of the victim were given AWFUL, generic lines that they delivered without emotion ("Have you been driving my car again? I told you not to!") and the attorneys' dialogue between each other was way too expositionary. I think this episode was written to catch up new viewers.

Here's why I'm no longer watching/reviewing Justice:

Jerry Bruckheimer's newest crime/law drama is not dead yet. Reuters reports that FOX has ordered up three more scripts for the series. Justice, starring Victor Garber, has regularly finished fourth in its time slot on Wednesdays at 9 pm (even behind reruns of Lost- ouch!). Late last month, Fox announced it was putting Justice and Happy Hour on early hiatus ahead of the World Series. That didn't look promising for either show, but at least Justice gets to take another swing at the viewers. No word on the fate of Happy Hour.

Even though I really want to see Kerr Smith and Victor Garber be successful, they can do better. Justice is already predictable... and enough with the handheld cameras!

(S01E05) This is the last episode of Justice for an undetermined amount of time. Earlier this week, we reported that the show is going on early hiatus (along with Happy Hour) in advance of the World Series. FOX says the hiatus doesn't mean the show is getting canceled or is even in jeopardy, but, quite frankly I think it could be in jeopardy. While I like the gimmick of making us wait until the end of the show to see how the crime was really committed, the procedural is becoming awfully formulaic. How are you guys feeling about this show?

(S01E04) I really enjoyed Tom Nicholson's (Kerr Smith) storyline in this episode. We get to see his weaknesses as he loses sight of his job when his relationship with a client clouds his judgment. Plus, someone else gets to try a case for once.

The episode opens with a man falling from a skyscraper and then the shaky camera work begins. This week's victim is Daniel Benson, son of legendary studio head Scott Benson. The victim's girlfriend, Molly Larusa, is missing. The two were dating in rehab, which is where Benson plummeted to his death. TNT&G fits into the equation because the missing girl's father is their client, Frank Larusa.

(S01E03) Good opening sequence. We see a guy strangle a girl, then learn it's on a film set, and then we see it's a reenactment for smarmy American Crime. A chick named Beth, who is about to be married, disappears after getting a ride home from a bartender, Jake Garcia.

Garcia has some good evidence against him. He lied to the police about giving Beth a ride home, her sweater is in his car, and so is her blood (which he says came from a cut to her foot). It looks like the cops are going to ambush Garcia at TNT&G offices, but Ron Trott (Victor Garber) turns the tables by parading his client in front of the media and offering a $1 million reward for the safe return of Beth, who may or may not be a runaway bride.

(S01E01) This show seems like a regular Jerry Bruckheimer, over-the-top procedural right up until the end, doesn't it? Just like on every version of CSI, the attorneys on Justice have all the coolest bells and whistles to help them do their jobs. Only this time, there's a twist at the end. We spend an hour watching a team of attorneys spin a case in their favor... and then we get to see what really happened. I want to know what evil genius conceived of this show and I want to simultaneously shake his/her hand and slap his/her face for suckering me into an hour of television every Wednesday night. 'Cuz I'm hooked.

First off, let me say that I am very jealous of the sweatshirt that Keith got from the Prison Break press kit. Since I'm covering Justice this season, Keith sent its press kit all the way across the country to my house. FOX didn't quite go all out with this press kit the way it did for Prison Break. No newspaper. Just a stack of office paper with bios for the actors, including a pathetically short bio for Kerr Smith, and a letter from the law firm instructing me to watch the pilot on DVD (also included).