Last Night's "Lost"

Yesterday I mentioned that one of the "Fast Forward" actresses is also on "Lost," and sure enough she turned up last night in her Penny incarnation. Same character: I'm going to look compassionate by smiling slightly without blinking.

But this wasn't about her. The ep was all about Desmond Hume, played by Henry Ian Cusick, one of those rare actors who can look totally mystified and scared without looking idiotic, stoned, or brutish. When he grins he looks grateful that something bad didn't happen just now, like a jet engine from the future falling out of the sky on his head.

Speaking of which: what happened to the wreckage of 815? This has probably been dissected at length on the obsessive fan boards, but I don't go there. In fact I gave up on those snarky Amusing Recaps you'd find at TV Without Pity and other places, because they just seem to suck the meaning out of everything, defining every story down to prattle and chatter. But I do remember a large noisy jet engine in the very first episode, along with other pieces of wreckage. Can't imagine that cleaning up the beach would be Job One, especially with murderous smoke lurking about. Imagine the scene:

"Jack! Jack! Walt and Shannon just saw black smoke eat a polar bear!"

"Why are you telling me?"

"You're the default authority figure by virtue of your medical training and brooding reluctance to assume the job for which you know you are best suited! Hurry!"

"Never mind. Walt and Shannon will both be written out of the series. Help me dismantle this enormous engine so we can use the parts for . . . oh, to hell with it. I'm taking a nap."

1. Charlie needs to overdose, now. World's most unsympathetic character. Drug addicts are annoying enough, but selfish snarling junkies who make everyone's life miserable in order to prove a metaphysical point are the worst.

2. You know you're not that bad a Lost viewer if you instantly realized the importance of Daddy Warbucks pouring Desmond some scotch from that bottle. But sir, that's the sixty dollar scotch, a fact I have somehow intuited from a parallel existence! That it is, my boy.

3. Everyone is related or married or a brother or a half-sister. I expected to see Cheech Marin show up as Penny's husband.

4. In a preview for "V" - a shows I meant to watch because it has Morena Baccarin from "Firefly," but so far it's never happened - I saw the actress who plays Juliet in "Lost," Elizabeth Mitchell. That's great; always liked her on "Lost," and thought she was far more interesting than Penny, whom Desmond loves because the script tells him to. But it seems ABC has about four actresses total, and has to keep rotating them around from show to show to placate the nerd base. See, this is sci-fi with a rich backstory, it has Juliet! You liked Juliet, didn't you? Sure you did. Sit down. It's as good as Lost. Really.