There's Magic Out There (my semi-short review)

[alliecat8]

First the usual disclaimer: I try to write my reviews "blind," so to speak - I don't read other ones first. I want to record my impressions, pure and uninfluenced. So here we go,

I went into it with high expectations. My soul is longing for a new Lost, crazy-ass as that sounds to some of you. ;) So what did I do but get me a some paper and a pen and write down everything that reminded me of Lost, just for fun. Spielberg didn't promote this show as "the new Lost" because he didn't need to; his reputation stands on its own and I'm GLAD he didn't, because I'm actually celebrating the differences more than the similarities. But just for kicks, here are my notes (some of 'em are a stretch, I know):

Lincoln = Hybrid Jack & Sawyer
Lincoln's teddy bear = Sawyer's polar bear
Magnus = Oceanic 815
Daddy Issues = Daddy Issues
Kurt with his guns = Locke with his knives
Lena = possibly-possessed girl next door whom I hope won't turn into a Kate but I have a bad feeling about this.
Unmapped River = Unmapped Island
Freaky noisy tree-shaking thingie = Smokey
Jahel fixing things = Sayid
Raft sabotage = Raft sabotage
Redshirt Cameraman = Dead Oceanic pilot
Clark's fixation on finding the truth = Locke's fixation on the Island
Magic tribe Emmet found = Island natives
The Source = The Heart of the Island
And my favorite, the slogans: There's Magic Out There = The Eye of the Island Is Beautiful

Off-topic: Lincoln = Kurt Cobain

The rest:

All right, sue me, I'm a fan of shows that enhance reality through the eye of on-the-scene cameras. I blame Friday Night Lights for this...but at least it allows me to tolerate all the spiraling and blanking out and seeing things from a bull-headed cameraman's POV. I loved the dialogue - especially how they allowed every swear word there is, only faintly bleeped out. I loved how they are showing the developing relationships bit by bit, instead of having everything all established before we came on the scene. Although this show isn't as pretty as Lost - neither the actors nor the scenery - I appreciated the artistic confidence of the creators to be different. There was so much more but I promised this would be semi-short so let me cut to what hooked me (er, besides Lincoln's hair and eyes, I mean, heh) - the part with the DOLLS. OMFG. Yeah, I know there will be skeptics out there who'll say it was unoriginal and contrived, but I don't care, I was freaked. And that isn't something that drives me away from a show; I'm always attracted to shows that elicit strong emotions, and this one did it for me.

And last but definitely not least, I LOVE LOVE LOVE shows about the magic of nature and the magic of relationships, and this one has it in spades.

Whew, it's hard to type with two thumbs up!

Comments

[eponine119.livejournal.com]

If one dude is Jack and Sawyer where's the slash?

Also, dolls? like the freaky island of the dolls in real life Mexico?

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

If one dude is Jack and Sawyer where's the slash?

Good question. I have to admit I spent a good part of the show wondering how to slash his looks (Sawyer) with his doctor-persona (Jack). But there was too much calisenics involved so I eventually gave up.

I think there's another hot guy on the way, guessing from the previews. I mean, they wouldn't give us this great show but NO SLASH POTENTIAL AT ALL, would they? If so, someone needs to send Spielberg to the School of Hawaii Five-0!

“La Isla de la Munecas”! Yes yes yes!!! It was creepy as hell plus a living person dug her way out of a grave, aaaaaaagh!

Shit, why couldn't we have gone to that place while we were in Mexico? *adds to Bucket List*

[halfdutch.livejournal.com]

Totally thought the same thing: Red shirt cameraman = pilot in a tree!

Lincoln is a bit Sawyer-esque in his appearance (although his hair gets shorter, not longer in upcoming eps!) But (funny enough) I was reading some posts where someone found him "as annoying as Jack on Lost." I guess the doctors get no respect. If there's going to be slash, it would have to be with Kurt, who is a damn sight hotter than Locke ever was!

Despite all the guns, Kurt reminded me more of Captain Hotass (aka Gault). To the point where I thought it was Grant Bowler at first.

I'll tune in again, definitely. Hoping Lena doesn't become as annoying as Kate but if she's the Chosen One, that would make her... Walt? Jack? Probably Jack.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Ha! And here I was thinking that the redshirt connection was one of my over-active imagination over-reaching for significance. ;)

I saw the posts about Lincoln sharing Jack's worst traits, and I was 1) surprised that they didn't give it a few episodes before judging him, and 2) a little bit bewildered, because all I saw him doing was helping kids and other people in need. One BIG difference from Jack that I noticed - he made the transition from a Man of Science to a Man of Faith so quickly, and I love him for being so open-minded about magic. Also his Daddy Issues are kind of sweet (it's obvious that he just wants his father to love him), and he loves his mother. Who can resist a man who takes care of his mom?

I see your point with Gault! Unfortunately we didn't get enough of him on Lost to really know him. I'm very curious to see if Kurt turns out to be a good guy or a bad guy, or if they're going to go the Lost direction and give everybody a hefty dose of good AND bad.

I don't think Lena's the Chosen One (she's annoying me already - how's that for jumping to conclusions ;) ). Didn't her dad die when he was with Emmet? And didn't he and Emmet hate each other? I'm betting that Lena's daddy had her tattooed as a little girl (she might not even know it's there; I have one in almost the same place and if I didn't know it was there, well...I wouldn't know it was there!). I'm placing my bets on Lincoln as the Chosen One, maybe just because he seems more vulnerable and I suspect he needs a redemption arc of some kind. IMHO, I mean - I've kinda gotten used to being wrong after six years of Lost keeping me guessing!