It's rare that a whole week goes by without any cultural/sociable happenings in the diary, but every now and then I like to have a quiet stay-at-home week indulging in some lowbrow DVD action, and making the most of our LoveFilm subscription. Last night we watched the final three episodes of Lost Season 3 back to back - a nailbiting couple of hours of corking fantasy adventure. I hardly watch any TV as a rule, but have been known to become hooked on the occasional above-average series - usually fantasy or off-the-wall comedy; often a combination of both, e.g. Buffy, Spaced, Black Books, Heroes, The Mighty Boosh. Even then, I tend to wait for them to be available on DVD, as I hate being tied to a particular viewing time each week, plus my VCR is broken and I have yet to make the transition across to new-fangled digital recording facilities (though this is becoming increasingly inevitable).Lost came along during something of a hiatus in what I think of as chewing gum for the eyes, and I remember being excited by the classy trailers featuring scantily clad beautiful people on a stunning tropical beach, and the promise of dark fantasy adventures. Season 1 was pretty good, good enough for me to stay home especially to watch it once a week, but by the end of Season 2 I was getting bored of the repetitive storylines and lack of fresh blood. Thankfully, Season 3 managed to claw its way back to being the cutting edge drama we'd all hoped for. This was partly down to the introduction of a whole new set of characters, including the fantastically hammy Bond-style Russian baddie Mikhail (pictured above) - complete with clichéd villainous eye-patch - who I find strangely attractive in a sexy-ugly kind of way. And I was starting to get bored of oggling at the pectorally perfect and ever-brooding Sawyer, so it was good to have an eye-candy alternative. All the original protagonists seemed to go through some sort of significant personal development or life-changing epiphany, making them generally more likeable as a result. I almost regret carving through the whole series so quickly, but it was such compelling viewing that it was impossible not to, and for me to say that, it must be good. The ending was cleverly enigmatic - resolving certain issues, but leaving enough in the air to guarantee your attention for another series. I believe Series 4 is currently showing on Sky One, but I shall have to wait a good few months before it comes out on DVD to get my fix. Meanwhile, my week of lowbrow indoor entertainment continues this evening with the latest series of Smallville, the first disc of which should be waiting on the doormat when I get home.
