With both successful prime time drama series ending in May 2010, Which show was more innovative, exciting and addicting?

Earlier this year, I rented all 5 previous seasons of “LOST” and spent a month getting caught up and ready for this new and final season. Some of my boys are crazy into this show, so I was excited, and I was speaking all the “LOSTAWAY“-speak with them, and was chomping at the bit about the next bit of free time I got to pop in the following season’s DVD, salivating to see what was gonna happen next, and how these super well developed characters I had grown to love were gonna get off this mystical Island. Seasons 1, 2, and 3 were arguably some of the best, well developed programming I had ever seen, and I was in!

Then things got weird…really quick..

They introduced time travel….oooookaaay. I thought this was a drama based somewhat on reality, but ok, I can roll with that. Then, they showed me how human beings could “warp” into distant lands and deserts like this was a freaking level of the 8-Bit Super Mario Brothers Nintendo game, simply by turning a magical donkey wheel……hmmm. oooookaaaay. Then, this baby snatching, mysterious evil as all hell group of unkempt crazies  “The Others” intentions, beliefs, and origins were never really explained to the audience….. Ok. Then there are the magical numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.…why? a Black Smoke Monster who can’t penetrate holy dust spread out on the ground….An immortal/non aging man named Jacob who has met with each main character during times thoughout each of their childhoods who seemingly has Christ-like tendancies……the freaking Man in Black….wait…..he‘s the smoke monster……..now he’s Locke……right?

Questions I had continuously went unanswered…and more and more and more questions I had went unanswered…and this phenomenon just kept snowballing.

Ok, wait a minute, this isn’t fun anymore.

Things just started to make NO sense at all….And FINALLY, I sat thru and endured the bullshit to thankfully make it to the majestic and extremely super hyped Final Season with the tagline “Finally, All Questions Would be answered!!!!! “ Now, close your eyes, and Imagine the most sinister, sarcastic laugh right now as you can, voicing the word “HA!”

That’s when the balloon popped for me. By the end of the first few episodes of the Final Season 6, I realized that these assholes who write and control this show had pulled a fast one on me. Was Ashton Kutcher one of the writers? Had the American viewing public just been bent over and Punk’d?  I was just waiting for Ashton jump out from behind my 50inch, trucker hat and all like it’s 2005 and shit.

These asswipes!  How have they managed to screw over and brainwash so many folks into thinking this show is the greatest, deepest, most philosophical, thought-provoking thing since sliced bread?

Now, with there only being 2 episodes left, there is no way they can possibly make up for the all the BS they have put out there, and it would be impossible to answer even half of some of the most pressing questions at this point. But yeah, hey, I guess they got me. I rented the 1^st five seasons, and have recorded/tuned in all season, but not because I enjoy the show anymore, but because watching this show now makes me so upset, angry and violent, I want to spawn adamantium claws from my hands like Wolverine, and furiously, viciously attack all those responsible for the direction of this show, screaming at them asking, “what the f*** is wrong with you people!!!! Do you have any clue HOW freaking STUPID, POINTLESS, AND ANNOYING THIS SHOW HAS BECOME!!??”

Now, if you wanna see some of the best produced, well written, most creative, addicting dramatic TV ever done, get on Amazon.com right now and order seasons 1 – 7 of 24 on dvd/blu-ray.

24 is a FAR superior show with a much better uber-unique reality based concept, and incredible tension building cliff hanging writing style which is very SATISFYING to the viewer. 24 follows Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland), head of fictitious US Intelligence agency Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), in a real time action/thriller in which each one hour epsiode covers an hour in a single day that unfolds over the course of one season.

24 delivers, and answers questions each season and each week, literally locking you in at the end of each episode as if it were visual crack cocaine, making you pant in waiting for next week’s episode to unravel the show’s latest dramatic happening.  That is why watching a season of 24 on dvd is a MUST!

The real time format in which the show uses is a stroke of genius, and is something that revolutionized the way a dramatic story could be told with such continuity, and so efficiently, at the same time, creating such an addictive method to deliver an arc of a story. In 2009, 24 was voted “The Most Addictive TV Show of All Time” by LOVEFiLM, a UK based entertainment company.

24 was far ahead of it’s time even in it‘s 1^st season, when it’s 2001 portrayal of African-American Presidential candidate David Palmer, played brilliantly by Allstate pitchman Dennis Haysbert, helped to prep the American viewing public for how life might be under the guidance of an extremely charismatic, young, moral, and intelligent first time African-American President running our nation.

24, not Lost, is the widely-acclaimed network primetime TV drama ending  it’s long successful run in May that truly deserves attention approaching it’s series finale. Not to mention, Jack Bauer would kick the living crap out of Jack Shepard. So, unfortunately, the direction, lack there of, and inability to answer questions and create a story with a believable sensical arc for that other show I talked about earlier was um……..how should I say it…?      lost.

Yet again,  how you fail me dear BCS system. The 44th President of the United States knows it. The whole country knows it. The BCS BLOWS it - hard. After punishing Big Ten Champion Penn State at the 2009 Rose Bowl, in a game that was over at halftime with USC up 31-7, USC again has a valid national title argument. Yet again, college football's title integrity has fallen victim to a system that punished the dominant USC Trojan Football team for playing in the perceived lesser PAC-10. Thats right, the computers and voters alike seemed to doom USC's title hopes after the early season Thursday night road loss at the hands of  then poorly received Oregon State,  combined with early season losses by PAC-10 teams to the likes of the Mountian West, and other sub-BCS conference teams. Well, the only problem with this early burial of USC is as such -  how can you judge a team and a conference by how they start off - should they not be judged by how they FINISH the season instead??? Since when are championships decided in the first month of the season? The PAC-10 went an undefeated 5-0 this bowl season- and that one loss on that fateful Thursday night Southern Cal suffered came to a now 9 win Oregon State team, who recently shut out BIG EAST ranked bowl opponent PITT.

So let me get this straight here. Florida's one loss is noticably "better" than USC's? Lets take a closer look here. BCS National Title contender Florida's one loss came to Ole Miss, at home, in the swamp, on the weekend.
USC's loss came on the road, Thursday night, a week after smacking up #5 ranked Ohio State at home 35-3, to a team that just won it's bowl game and finished strong. Dare I bring up Non-Conference Scheduling ? Lets look at who Florida played this season -  Miami, Hawaii, and The Citadel...The who? lol. USC played Virgina, a team who played in a bowl on Jan. 1 2008, powerhouse #5 Ohio State, and historic cross country rival Notre Dame, who only of late has struggled. In those three monumental anus-slashings the Men Of Troy handed out this season, they put up 125pts., and allowed 13. Advantage Southern Cal.

This is just rediculous and I am tired of this same outcome each year - with SC ending up as Rose Bowl Champ..and having no chance to play one more game and be tested to the fullest extent, beacuse of a foolish system in which computers, and voters on the East Coast who don't get to see SC play due to Eastern Standard Time, control their fate. Pete Carroll finally last night on national TV said what I, and folks who have followed SC's dominance this decade already knew - This Years USC Team can play with ANYbody in the nation, and on a big stage, the athleticism, speed, and power all side with the Trojans - I don't see Oklahoma or Florida slowing them down - it is just sad we will not get to see it played out on the field, like every other major American sport. Super-human Trojan safety Taylor Mays, who is 6'3'', 235, and runs a 4.3 40 has something for those BIG 12 wideouts coming across the middle - PAIN. Senior Linebacker BEASTS Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga have something for those SEC running backs to pick up other than 1st downs -  their teeth - after they knock them the f-out. Mark Sanchez and Damian Williams have something for those dreadlocked SEC defensive backs - speed, intelligence, and NFL timing and precision they rarely ever see in their league - until they get to the pros. And speedy Joe McKnight, Stafon Johson, and CJ Gable between the 3 of them present a high intensity rushing attack that will leave you tackling air. With Undeniably the best coach of this era running the show, Pete Carroll and his NFL-esqe staff have a gameplan for you, and whatever army you bring. So go ahead and play your Bunch of Chicken Shit BCS title game, the system has failed again, and hopefully the AP Voters can step up and make their votes count, and once again stick it to the BCS. Hey, isnt the guy running the BCS a member of Al Quaida or something..? Hey, President Obama - go get rid of him and implement the playoff system now, the country is counting on you to rid us of this nonsensical BS..it'll help the economy I promise......................and end world hunger.........help cure aids................. heal cancer................well, maybe not, but it'll make you the coolest, sharpest dude around......next to Pete that is.

**my open letter to coach Carroll regarding SDSU football**

Dear USC Football Coach Pete Carroll,

I am a huge fan of your success with my hometown USC Trojan football team. You are the awesomest guy to ever coach football - ever - in my opinion - period! From your "competition tuesdays", where players compete against one another at full speed to determine playing time and depth chart position for the upcoming weeks game, to the infamous stunt shenanegans pulled by hollywood megastar Will Farrell's visits at your weekly pratice sessions, simply put, you rock! Your defensive schemes and philosophies have USC's intimidating defense ranked #1 nationwide in all categories this season - an amazing feat!

I just need a small, small favor of you, sir.

I am a San Diego State alumni. Yes, Pete, um - we do have a football program there, well at least I think we do - that is why I am writing you this most urgent of letters. I graduated in 2001, and from the time I started there in 1996 unitl this past season, my beloved Aztecs have posted a win-loss record of 59-93.They finished the 2008 campaign 2-10, the worst record in school history, and have been the recent laughing stock of San Diego, and the Mountian West Conference. Since my days at SDSU, thier sole bowl appearance was in 1998 at the highly touted Las Vegas Bowl, with a 20-13 loss to college football powerhouse North Carolina...(sarcasm kills, doesnt it?).

I know our Aztecs may not share the storied tradition that USC does, or the legacy of Heisman greatness, but Pete, it is a Division 1 football program in gorgeous San Diego man near beaches with bizneaches and all that - the city rocks!  Pete, I need you to make a phone call for me...please...oh please....One Mr. Herm Edwards, currently coaching the "NFL's college team" Kansas City Chiefs, could you hit him on his hip please Pete, you still got his # right?

You see, like you Pete, he too is a super energetic, passionate guy who works until exhaustion in all attempts to win the game. You PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!!...Well he does too Pete. And like you, he has had moments of sheer genius in his head coaching days in the NFL, but of late, has struggled getting thru to those "set in thier ways" adult players, as you did as coach of the Patriots, before you bolted for greener pastures here in Sunny Southern Cal - where you can get tons of first round picks each year - not one or two, right Pete? And get this Pete, SDSU is his Alma Mater - he played his senior year of football here in the late 70's!

Now Pete, when you took the USC job, the program had reached an all time low in the win percentage column - as has SDSU. It would be fair to say, that you and your enthusiastic style of coaching, and ability to sell the dream to the hearts of student atheletes here in the So Cal area has worked - and turned what had become a mediocre program into arguably THE elite college football program in the nation, right? Well check this out Pete-ster, I believe Herm can have similar effect on local Southern Cal blue chippers at SDSU..or even better, talk to that speedster wideout in Texas or Florida about the San Diego weather, west coast living, gansgter rap, quality of the tr....um....young ladies out here...yes siree Pete, that one works too ya know! But most of all Pete, let Herm know just how cool it feels to be in your 50's and be the most wanted man on a southern Cal college campus. Herm kinda looks like an older version of Ginuwine anyway - dude would pull mad mad freaks as he turns around that SDSU football program!

So all in all Pete, as you go forward, knocking Pac-10 competition into oblivion, and making offenses nationwide look more foolish than Rick Neuheisel, take a moment of time to recruit your old pal Herm Eddie back out to Southern Cal to coach the Aztecs. And dont worry about them posing a threat to your dynasty, it's time for a new So Cal rivalry to brew up since the Bruins Football program is simply laughable, and in Los Angeles  - will NEVER be able to compete with USC on any level other than Rose Bowl appearances....USC has played there when it counted more than they have all time damn near. (F-UCLA and the Clippers should pack it up to San Diego if you ask me - the Might-less Bruins of Westwood would be better matched with my Aztecs year in and out, that would make a much better more even rivalry, as would the Clippers matched against the SDSU Basketball team - then they also MIGHT have a chance against a hometown rival... )

Aztecs & Trojans - Fight On 2 Montezuma!

Who says us San Diego State guys can't come to L.A. and do good things? This is what happens when someone instills faith and confidence in someone, and sticks with them even in tough times when things look bad. In the first half, Craft's play looked reminscent of recent SDSU play: many miscues with 4 interceptions. After UCLA's prodigal son head coach Rick Neuheisel sat him down at halftime, and told Kevin "you are our guy..I threw 4 picks in my 1st game as UCLA QB...now settle down and play...", Kevin did just that, in the second half settling down in Norm Chow's offense, and looking like a Heisman Candidate, throwing with poise, focus, and accuracy, leading the UCLA offense on two scoring drives, and a last minute TD drive that was sheerly Tom Brady-esqe. So this die hard SDSU/USC Football fan, on this day, smiles and basks in this very special UCLA victory, as a fellow-former Aztec has made him proud. Especically, being that the fact that Kevin's Dad, Tom Craft, former SDSU football coach from 2001-2005, recruited me personally to try out for his football team in my senior year at SDSU, after seeing me working out at the Aztec Recreation Center, and admiring my stregnth and size. Even though I declined his offer to try out in spring camp for the Aztecs, I always followed him and his team, rooting with vigor and pride, even in tough times, through many defeats. Hopefully this is the beginning of an era that may be reminiscent of the great Los Angeles college football rivalries of the 1980's and 1960's, where UCLA and USC were both featured as major powers across the college football landscape. Of late, we all know the story with the recent and present dominance of Pete Carroll's USC Trojans, this decade playing in 6 BCS bowls, and winning 2 BCS National Championships. Rick Neuheisel's recent ad in the LA Times stating that "The Football Monopoly in Los Angeles is Officially Over", may just be the catalyst for change the UCLA football program needed. So rest assured all you Bruin Fans, this SDSU Guy WILL be rooting for Kevin Craft and his Bruin Offense this season....that is........... until December 6th. F I G H T O N anjalo russell

Is it just me, or is the original 1989 theme to the motion picture Batman by Danny Elfman one of the greatest musical works in the history of film? Again, the powers that control hollywood have chosen to ignore the past, and ignore the tradition of something that helped make the Batman movies of the late 80's and 90's so memorbale - THE THEME MUSIC!!
 
I was under the impression that in "Dark Knight", that incredible theme music we all came to know and love as Batman's theme would be revisited, as his character has now grown into the fully fledged role of Batman. So now after learning they have not revisited it, I am infuriated. Do I have right to be? Of Course, here is why..
 
I fully understand these new Batman movies are seperate and all together different from the 80's and 90's flicks. But, it is still a Batman movie, one of the world's most famous comic characters. His theme was set in stone when Elfman wrote it in 1989...
 
**How much hell would have been raised if Star Wars - episodes 1-3 did not contain the original Star Wars music by John Williams, as each film opens with the upward scrolling epilouge summarizing the plot? hmmmm....
 
**How about Superman Returns, as that once again famous John Williams theme hits you in the heart, as the names of each cast member, director, and actor come into focus, and then seem to vanish into hyper space with the cool blueish font?
 
**How many James Bond flicks have been made? In EACH, that original "dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun..." has been there - re-orchestrated many times, by many different composers, but always redone in a new fresh manner, to keep it relevant.
 
**Psycho...Jaws.....Beverly Hills Cop.....Terminator.....Indiana Jones.....All Movies that have very noticeable music, and each has been kept intact in all incarnations of the films to date.
 
Batman Begins is one of my all time favorites, and yes, Batman Begins was better than all it's predecessors accept for maybe 1989's original Batman. Batman Begins would have been that much better if at the end I had heard glimpses of the Elfman theme, and inerpolations of it orchestrated and played right before the credits rolled. And yes, Hans Zimmer, who scored "The Dark Knight" IS MY FAVORITE FILM SCORE COMPOSER! That being said, why in the **** could he have not just incorporated bits and pieces of Elfman's theme into this new film? As much as I loved Batman Begins, it didnt quite feel like a Batman movie without that eerie, cold, sinister, creepy, Danny Elfman opening theme. What's a guy to do? At least there are hundreds of thousands of fans who feel like me, who have been checking out these homemade clips and trailers of Dark Knight with Elfman's og theme cut in. Whats next? A Transformers live action movie without the sounds of the transformers transforming......or without the original transformers cartoon theme re-orchestrated? Only in Hollywood.
 
 
***Dark Knight Trailer with Danny Elfman Original Batman score (1989) http://www.listal.com/video/4217598
 
***Dark Knight Trailer without original Batman Score (Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaIR9dAZRR0
 

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the.get.lo.xperience
http://soundclick.com/lostangelmusic