Pearl Station Log

When it comes to television shows, even more than choosing a personal favorite episode, I enjoy trying to determine a show's quintessential episode. Which episode would you show to someone who has never seen the show? –  if you want to make a fun game out of it. Although that question doesn't work as well with serialized shows, since you usually need to start at the beginning to have proper context. So, I prefer to think in terms of defining the episode that best represents the show: its Platonic ideal. Maybe a better question is, If you could only keep one episode to watch forever, to remind you what made you a fan in the first place, which would it be? My first fandom was Star Trek, which has by now had many series. I could choose a quintessential episode for each one, but a while back I decided to think hard about the entire history of the franchise to come up with one ideal Star Trek episode, both for a new viewer to get an idea of the show at its best, as well as one I pe...

I originally posted this on Quora  in December 2018 as an answer to the question "Who will explain the ending of the Lost TV series?" At the time, having  watched the show in its entirety at least five times, and having spent countless hours analyzing, reading, and discussing it in detail, I felt qualified to offer a reasonably accurate explanation of Lost's conclusion.  I was then, and am still, committed to dispelling some of the common misconceptions about the show, such as the complaint that it failed to resolve most of its mysteries, or the belief that the Island was a kind of purgatory and the characters were therefore dead the whole time. Thus, the main purpose of this essay was not to interpret themes and meanings (although it does a bit of that) but to demonstrate that the answers to most questions can indeed be found through careful viewing. -- Although some viewers weren’t satisfied with the ending of Lost, to say everything was left unexplained is untrue. Many...

Greetings, and welcome. Somewhere on a remote island, deep in a hidden bunker, a man sits in front of a bank of screens and watches whatever appears. If he likes what he sees, he writes his thoughts down, rolls them up, and places them in the pneumatic tube that delivers them to you for review. He hopes you'll read them and maybe offer thoughts of your own. Your comments will be transmitted to him at regular intervals. Namaste, and good luck!