Sorry, But You "Lost" Me Right There

It happened two episodes ago with the death of Mr. Eko. My son was asking me all kinds of questions about what the characters on "Lost"were doing and why they were doing it and I kept saying, "I don't know. I don't know." And I suddenly realized that the writers of the show probably don't know either, no matter what they say.

I simply can't imagine any kind of logically consistent framework into which all the puzzle pieces are going to fit. There are just too many of them, to the point of ridiculousness.

The Others in particular don't seem to make any sort of sense. They say they're the "good guys," but no one who acts as they do is so sociopathic as to say that with a straight face. And if I had a tumor in my spine, I wouldn't abuse the only doctor in my neighborhood and torture his good friends in the hopes that he might operate on me successfully. Off the top of my head, I can think of about a dozen more productive strategies.

I'm getting tired of all the torture and the nastiness and the total refusal to ask the most obvious questions. ("Hey, where'd all you Others come from? Does this island have a name I might have heard of? Do you know how that smoke monster thing works?") Watching the "mid-season finale" was a real chore. By the time Sawyer and Kate got around to the Dirty Monkey Love in the polar cage, I'd lost interest.

If you stop and think about it, every single main character on "Lost" is running some sort of con game, either on him/herself or others. I'm convinced the writers are doing the same to the audience, and it's really starting to annoy me.

I'll be back for more in February. But as Adam Sternbergh points out in New York Magazine, "Lost" didn't have to end up like this.

TV Vet Plays Stoppard Vet

Christopher Timothy, typecast after years of playing veterinarian James Herriot on the BBC's "All Creatures Great and Small," is finding great satisfaction in playing a World War One veteran in Stoppard's adaptation of Gerald Sibleyras's "Heroes."

The Stoppard Miscellany Continues

The San Jose Mercury News finds ACT's "Travesties" too clever by half

"Travesties" Wins with Timeless Wit, sez The Daily Californian

Inspired by the local production, the San Francisco Chronicle's Steve Winn discusses real-life travesties

Miscellaneous Stoppard Links

Cleaning out the old messages to find items of interest:

Unexcited by the first part of "The Coast of Utopia," Lawrence Toppman in the Charlotte Observer praises its star-studded cast

A profile of Gregory Wallace, who played Tristan Tzara in the ACT production of "Travesties"

A review from the Contra Costa Times about ACT's "Travesties"...

And one from Bloomberg...

And another from the San Francisco Chronicle

Lincoln Center's Backstage Blog from "The Coast of Utopia"

If you have a spare $350 for patron ticket, you can attend the Williamstown Theatre Festival's salute to Stoppard on Nov. 13

Two-fer

Last Sunday's Chronicle was just chockablock with reviews I'd written. In my regular column, I covered the latest from Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Susanna Clarke. As a bonus, the monthly kids' book page featured my review of new books by Ursula Le Guin, Delia Sherman and Chris Humphreys.

For a Good Cause

Emma Burke writes:

I work for the National Library for the Blind in Stockport (UK) and during Right to Read week (beginning 6th November) we're launching a special celebrity signed book auction on eBay. We wrote to a number of celebrities and asked them to sign a copy of their favourite children's book.

One of the books in our auction is Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome which has been chosen and signed by the lovely Tom Stoppard for us. We were hoping that information could be put up on the website so that fans of Tom's will know about it and have the chance to bid for the book as we feel this is a real collectors item. Our eBay site will go live on Thursday 9th November, but we've created a holding page on our website for fans to visit to check when the bidding can begin.

I Shriek, You Shriek, We All Shriek for Fungi

My new science fiction review in the San Francisco Chronicle covers the latest from Kage Baker, Jeff VanderMeer, Alexandra Sokoloff and Brian K. Vaughan.

"Rock 'n' Roll" Part Three

On the 38th anniversary of the Soviet invasion, Richard Ouzounian of the Toronto Star reflects on what a city remembers, what it tries to forget and how a new play by Tom Stoppard tied it all together for him.

"Rock 'n' Roll" Part Two

In The Observer, Sean O'Hagan comments upon the new play's "use of [erstwhile Pink Floyd singer] Syd Barrett as a symbol of lost innocence."

"Rock 'n' Roll" Part One

Stoppard's latest play, "Rock 'n' Roll," opened at London's Duke of York Theatre to hugely enthusiastic reviews in June. I've accumulated many links to reviews of the production and background pieces since then. It's time I started putting them to work. So:

Here's Vaclav Havel talking about the play.

Don't Smoke 'Em If You've Got 'Em

Speaking of "R&G," the latest production at the Fringe substituted cocaine for marijuana as Rosencrantz's drug of choice, due to a much-publicized ban on smoking. (Why R. was being depicted as a pothead is unclear to me.)

A Mixed "R&G" Review in the Washington Post

The headline -- "A Slow Death for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" -- pretty much says it all about the critical consensus for the Longacre Lea production.

Latest Cast Details for "The Coast of Utopia"

Amy Irving and Jason Butler Harner are the latest major additions to the American premiere of "The Coast of Utopia," slated to open at Lincoln Center on October 17.

If You Happen to Be in the Twin Cities on 12/18...

Stoppard will appear at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis as this year's Global Voice speaker.

No One's Queuing up for Joyce's "Exiles"

Why don't great novelists makes great playwrights, and vice versa? This article from the Guardian Unlimited delves into that issue. In passing, Stoppard's "Lord Malquist and Mr Moon" is described as "far too slick and ingenious to carry any weight: that boulevardier's juggling, so delightful and paradoxical in the plays, just looks cheap on paper."

President of the London Library

Apparently, Stoppard has recently been appointed president of the London Library in St James Square, founded by Thomas Carlyle and friends. In this article from All About Jewish Theatre, he discusses his Jewish roots, his love of books and his methods of writing while staying at hotels.

Special Powers

Last week, the Sunday Chronicle featured my reviews of the latest from Tim Powers, Elizabeth Bear and Kim Newman.

Catching Up

It's been a while, hasn't it? Here's the first of two long-ago review columns. I cover the latest from Marta Acosta, Kit Reed and Vernor Vinge.

Something for the Kids

From The Chronicle, a round-up of new science fiction and fantasy for younger readers.

Tuttle, Duncan and Medley

I recently reviewed "The Silver Bough" by Lisa Tuttle, "Vellum" by Hal Duncan and "Castle Waiting" by Linda Medley and was not 100% happy with any of them.