The Foot: OVER BLACKNESS, MUSIC. OMINOUS AND FOREBODING. 1 THEN, OUT OF 1 THE DARKNESS, A SINGLE WORD. FLOATING IN SPACE, OUT OF FOCUS, TOWARD CAMERA. AS IT APPROACHES IT COMES INTO FOCUS, BUT IT'S SHARP ONLY FOR A BRIEF MOMENT: LOST

SCREENPLAY OF THE DAY

Today marks the sixth year anniversary of the LOST series premiere. The diehard fans actually commemorate this day. I count myself among the diehards and I celebrated the 5th year anniversary of the premiere last September 22 in a post that featured the greatest scenes in LOST. I think half of the scenes I used have been deleted by YouTube but search the archives to find a post that definitely takes the longest to load.

I haven't actively searched for a show to replace LOST like many fans. I read critics and fans speculate about what the next LOST will be. Well, in my opinion, there will never be another LOST. LOST was just a uniquely, awesome show and I'll never have as much fun watching other scripted television as I had watching LOST. I don't need another LOST either because I own the entire series on television. I don't actively search for the next Buffy or ANGEL or Firefly. No other shows could be those shows, if you know what I mean.

I miss those early season one days because the kind of fan nonsense and hate that dominated the majority of message boards during the majority of season six didn't exist nor did the post-LOST animosity. In those days, fans simply went head over heels for the show after Walkabout ended. But oh well. I don't care if people were pissed off by the ending. I loved it.

There's no finer time to give the LOST pilot the Screenplay of the Day. J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof wrote it. LOST had a very unique writing style. The intensity of the episodes began in the scripts. There are F bombs all over the pages. I love reading the LOST scripts. Hopefully, one day, every script is available to read.

LOST--"Pilot Parts 1 &2"--Written By J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Lost/Lost_1x01_-_Pilot.pdf

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK



BEYOND SURVIVAL

In the latest episode of Beyond Survival with Les Stroud, Les visits the Hewa tribe of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific to witness first-hand the Cumoutin ceremony. The ceremony was banned by missionaries and many people defined the Hewa people as cannibals because of the ceremony. Unlike the other episodes, the focus isn't on recording and preserving the culture of the Hewa's because the Hewas their culture and way of life is in no danger.

The central focus of the episode is the Cumoutin ceremony. Despite the narration from Les about the ghoulish atmosphere of the ceremony, the Coumoutin is very spiritual. Les defines the ceremony as a celebration of life and avoids comparing it to a wake or a funeral. The funeral comparison is apt though. The Hewas want to release the spirit of the deceased into the heavens through the ceremony. Death itself doesn't release the spirit. The Hewas mourn the deceased like family and friends mourn the deceased at a funeral. The camera caught shots of the people with tears in their eyes and heads bowed. The Cumoutin lets the Hewas say their final goodbye. The episode closes with the ceremony and Les even departs early so they can continue as they wish. The beginning and end of the episode focuses on the Cumoutin.

The rest of the episode is spent hunting and gathering with the Hewas. It was a very simple episode. Les Stroud didn't overdramatize like he tends to do in his narrations. Their hunts take a long time. The Hewas use a hunting dog to sniff out game. Once the game is found, they create small holes for the smaller Hewas to enter in attempts to capture the game. The dog found a small rat. Several hours were spent working to catch the rat but the work didn't end with a catch. The hunting dog got stuck inside of the hole and the Hewas worked as fast as they could before the wet mud collapsed and kill the dog. The dogs yelps were heartbreaking. Luckily, the Hewas freed him and the dog immediately wanted to continue the hunt.

In the forty-some minutes of the episode, I learned very little about the Hewas besides the Cumoutin. In previous episodes, I had a good amount of knowledge about the cultures, the way their society worked, gender roles, etc. For whatever reason Les spent much less time teaching the viewers about the Hewas. Les takes about a minute, at night, to talk about how he's gotten used to the constant stares when he's in a completely new environment and among new people. Les complains about the jungle treks a few times and notes that he can't keep up with the Hewas. Mostly, Les focuses on Les' experience rather than the Hewas.

Les should never return to Papua New Guinea because he hated it in the series finale of Survivorman and the hatred hasn't disappeared.

Besides the filming of the Cumoutin ceremony, this episode completely ignored the premise of the series. It's safe to call this episode the worst episode of the series.