Back on track

Well, it took them pretty much all season to do it, but they finally put together an episode of Lost that captured the brilliance of the first two seasons. Great episode, great ending. I haven't been caught so completely off guard by this show since Sayid, Sun, and Jin saw the four-toed foot statue. I won't say more, lest there be some among you not yet exposed. Could be the turning point in this season, and the start of a major rebound. Just in time, too, since both Battlestar and Rome end this weekend.

On the sadder side, Larry Bud Melman died. Anyone who doesn't immediately recognize that name probably won't feel much in the way of loss, even if they do remember exactly who he is once they Google up his picture. Hell, I hadn't even thought about Larry Bud Melman in at least 10 years. But the mere mention of his name brought back an immediate and very localized flood of memories.

Specifically, 1993. Summer. Chevy Chase had just served up one the biggest train wrecks in talk-show history, all while Letterman was moving from NBC to CBS, where he would promptly knock that Leno hack on his smarmy ass. My roommate and I watched it all with a religious interest, convinced Letterman might actually be a god. And then there were those nerdy, nervous O'Brien and Richter kids on at 12:30, who seemed to show some promise after a rocky start. A great summer.