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THE PENDULUM
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10. 2010// PAGE 15
TV REVIEW
VIDEO GAME REVIEW * ★ * ilr ir
lost' returns with a bang for final season fame
Jon Moore
Alexa Milan
Reviewer
“Lost” fans had to wait eight long months for a new episode
after last May's explosive finale. The Feb. 2 premiere marked a
bittersweet occasion as the show kicked off its final season.
At the end of season five, the “Lost” gang was split between
two times. In 2007, it was revealed that Locke (Terr> O’Quinn)
is dead, and the man everyone thought was Locke is the
mysterious “Man in Black.” This man tricked Ben (Michael
Emerson) into killing the Christ-like Jacob (Mark Pellegrino.)
.As the other “Lost" gang traveled back in time to 1977,
Faraday (Jeremy Davies) discovered a way for the castaways to
avoid crashing into the island. Detonating a hydrogen bomb in
1977 could contain the out-of-control energy that crashed their
plane in 2004. The episode concluded with the explosion of the
bomb and no indication as to whether or not the plan worked.
In the premiere, the castaways are back on Oceanic
flight 815 in 2004, and the island is completely submerged
beneath the ocean. After the first commercial break, the 1977
castaways are once again in 2007.
The bomb killed Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). Hurley (Jorge
Garcia) saw a vision of Jacob telling him to find a temple where
they can save Sayid (Naveen Andrews), who has been shot.
When they arrive at the temple, Jacob’s followers find a piece
of paper with the castaways' names on it that implies they
were destined to be there.
On the other side of the island, the “Man in Black” reveals
what many fans predicted after May’s finale — he is the smoke
monster that has plagued the castaways since season one.
In 2004, flight 81S lands safely in Los Angeles. In this
reality, Locke is still paralyzed, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan)
and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) are still alive and Desmond
(Henry Ian Cusick) is on the plane but disappears. Though they
are not on the island, the stage is set for the castaways’ paths
to still cross.
The season six premiere is one of the best “Lost” episodes
since season one. As confusing as it is, the alternate reality
Photo couftwy of MCT Campus
Ben Linus, leader of the “Others” is tranfixed by the smoke monster,
revealed as the “Man in Black.”
in which the castaways never crash on the island brings the
show back to its beginnings in a refreshing way. It is also a
treat for fans to see the return of old favorites like Charlie and
Boone.
M the same time, the alternate reality does not negate the
past five seasons. It would have been disappointing to only
see the castaways back on flight 815 without wrapping up the
mysteries of the island. In typical “Lost” fashion, the premiere
solves one major mystery — the smoke monster — only to
present a slew of new questions.
Though the premiere lasted for two hours, there was never
a dull moment. Flashing back and forth between the two
realities provides plenty of heart-pumping thrills and head-
scratching mysteries.
It is also a fantastic showcase of O'Quinn’s talent, as he now
has to play a new version of Locke in one reality and a villain
in another.
If this episode is any indication, the final season of “Lost”
will be an intense, yet satisfying, thrill ride that will keep fans
guessing until the very end.
Don't get lost:
Unanswered
'Questions
1. Who is the Man in Black?
Viewers know the new face of evil
on “Lost" is Jacob's enemy and that
he's been present on the island
since the beginning of the show as
the smoke monster. But why did he
want Jacob dead? How long has he
been on the island? And where is
the hometo which he says he wants
to go?
2. What’s the deal with the
alternate reality?
Viewers now know Faraday's bomb
worked, creating an alternate
TV REVIEW
reality in which flight 815
never crashes. But how will the
castavvays’ destinies intertwine in
this universe? Why was Desmond
on the plane this time? Will they
meet other characters like Ben or
Juliet in this w'orld? And will the
new 2004 reality collide with the
old 2007?
3. What do the numbers
mean?
One of “Lost's” oldest and still
unanswered questions is the
meaning behind the numbers “4,
8, 15, 16, 23, 42." Hurley played the
lottery using this sequence, which
spawned a heap of bad luck. Not
only Hurley had misfortune with
them: the numbers have appeared
constantly on and off the island,
but their significance is still
unclear.
4. What happened to Claire?
In season four, Claire (Emilio de
Ravin) disappeared, wandering off
with her dead father (w'ho could be
the Man in Black, impersonating
him just as he is impersonating
Locke.) She left baby Aaron behind
and hasn’t been seen since then.
Since de Ravin is back as a full
time cast member this season, it
is likely viewers will discover her
whereabouts soon.
5. Where are the castaways,
anyway?
The big question is the one Charlie
posed back in season one: “Guys,
where are we?" Viewers know the
strange things that have happened
on the island, but where exactly is
this supernatural place? Why were
the castaways destined to find it?
And, will they ever get away?
Martin is funnier than his own show
Second season o f'Important Things with Demetri Martin'premiere falls flat
Lauren Ramsdell
A&E Editor
Wildly popular on college
campuses, Demetri Martin is
best known as a quirky stand-
up comedian. Last year. Comedy
Central offered Martin his own show.
“Important Things with Demetri
Martin" is now entering its second
season.
The season premiered on Feb. 4
with the focus of the first show being
“Attention.”
What doesn't seem to be important
to the show is how to connect each
segment to the others and make the
series flow as a whole. Martin begins
each episode with his signature
wordplay and a drawing, but his
familiar “big pad" is now a television
screen with pre drawn images. This
may not seem like such a big change,
but part of Martin’s charm is in
the process of his drawings. Now,
because the drawings are already
prepared, viewers do not get to watch
the drawing take shape.
After the introduction, Martin
breaks the rest of the episode into
chunks of sketch comedy that fall
flat. Either Martin, his team of
writers or the actors are dropping
the ball. The premise is announced at
the start of the scene, and then five
minutes of awkwardly unamusing
dialogue occurs with silly sight
gags. Even clever ideas are flogged
like the proverbial dead horse,
making continued watching almost
unbearable. Between sketches there
I can’t do anything beyond
what I think is funny.”
Demetri Martin
COMEDIAN
are moments of stand-up, musical
interludes and more drawings.
Martin is a Yale-educated, self
described geek. His normal stand-
up reflects this personality. But,
“Important Things" falls back onto
more random humor and basic sight
gags. It doesn't appear that Martin is
really putting his heart into the show.
“I can't do anything beyond what
I think is funny," Martin said in a
conference call.
The show is redeemed when
Martin's signature palindromes, his
witty observations and his word
games make an appearance. When
Martin does stand-up bits in front of
the studio audience, there is hope for
his show.
“Important Things" and “Mind of
Mencia” are Comedy Central's outlet
for trying to find a replacement for
“Chappelle’s Show," canceled after a
third, incomplete season.
“It's very different," Martin said
of his comparison to Dave Chappelle.
“It was a fair comparison as far as
format, but we've sort of migrated
away from that."
In his stand-up, Martin has the
potential for as many laughs and
quoteable moments as Chappelle.
But, Martin's talent does not shine
through in his show, making every
viewing a reminder that time would
be better spent watching re-runs of
specials such as “Demetri Martin:
Person” or “If I.”
Luckily, Martin has other things
on his plate, including movies,
potential book deals and an eventual
return to stand-up.
Jon Moore
Reviewer
It’s been quite a while since Sega
has had a turn in the spotlight. The
Japanese game developer, most
famous for the “Sonic” franchise, has
been less than prodigious in recent
years. Its track record does not bode
well for “Bayonetta", co developed
with MadWorld's I’latinumGames, but
is it possible that the Sega slump has
come to an end?
The most notable gameplay feature
of “Bayonetta" is its evocation of the
style of the “Devil May Cry” school of
combat. Of course, with the creator of
the original “DMC," Hidcki Kamiya, as
director of the game, this is what one
should expect. Combat is not the onl>
thing brought by Kamiya, though.
As anyone who has played Kamiya’s
cult classics “Okami" and “V iewtiful
Joe” will tell you, he knows st> le. In
“Bayonetta," enemies, environments
and bosses are truly a wonder to
behold. It’s this synergy of fighting
and fashion that forms the crux of his
new release. Such a focus seems to
have drained the life out of what the
game badly needed: a coherent story
and a decent way to tell it.
The premise of the game is a
combination of a few well-known
tropes, foremost among which are
the epic fight between the forces of
heaven and hell (or, as the) 're known
throughout the game, Paradiso and
Inferno) and the amnesiac heroine.
Players only know that they are
fighting against heaven, and the plot
does little to com ince the players
why that is particularly heroic. Only
deep into the story does there appear
any semblance of reason for the
eponymous Bayonetta’s hostility, but
because the character learns it al the
same time as the player, it is not likely
to offer any real solace. Beyond this,
the plot is nearly incomprehensible.
The method Sega and
PlatlnumGames have devised of
con\e> ing their story is no prize,
either. Many cutscenes are not fully
animated. Cloth may sway in the
wind, but characters' bodies and
mouths are disappointingly immobile.
It ma> have been intended to be
purel>' stylistic, but it comes across as
a cost-cutting maneuver that doesn't
fit the polished nature of the visuals.
Gameplay is decent, following a
linear path through various stages
while intermittently using combo-
centric combatk, employing guns,
swords and other w'eapons to
eliminate everything that movc*s.
Occasionally, the players are treated
to segments with controllable
vehicles, but these sections are
understandably shallow and serve
mainly to paint a more imposing
picture of the heroine.
The combos are fluid and response
time for the dodge function is
perfect, even when in the middle of
a combat animation. Such perfection
is necessary to activate “witch
time," a slow motion feature that
is indispensible in giving you the
slightest chance of coming out of the
harder battles victorious. This feature
is the best addition to the combat.
Bayonetta, the game’s protagonist,
is an epic gender studies debate
waiting to explode. Proportionally
even less representative of the
female form than Barbie, Bayonetta
proves that where Dante and Kratos
succeeded in sensationalizing
ultraviolent masculinity, she can
do the same with hyper-sexual
femininity. She poses suggestively,
teases opponents and performs
special moves that leave her in
various stages of undress, down to
full (if only slightly obscured) frontal
and rear nudity.
Contrast these supposedly
exploitative scenes with those that
show her in undeniable dominance
over arrogant men and the player
cannot be sure how to react. Was
Bayonetta designed to be ogled by
over-excited teenage boys or to be
a type of strong female character
that isn’t afraid to flaunt her ow'n
sexuality? Only players can decide
the answer to this question.