Joan of Arc With the Lord to Guide Her

Saying Bea Arthur exhibited a one-of-a-kind wit is about as cliche as saying Lucille Ball sure was a goofy redhead.

But there's no denying it's true.

Arthur, who died Saturday at age 86 of cancer, was an intimidating presence. Tall, with arched eyebrows and a gravelly tenor that would put American Idol's man-boys to shame, she could put a leopard to sleep with an icy stare.

She became a TV star after guest-starring on All in the Family in 1971. She had already achieved fame on Broadway and in the movie version of Mame, but producer Norman Lear re-invented her career at age 50. He spun off her character, Maude Findlay, into her own series, which lasted on CBS for six years. Arthur won an Emmy for the controversial role.

She struck gold again in 1985 with the classic The Golden Girls. As divorcee Dorthoy Zbornak, she could hit Betty White's daffy Rose on the head with a newspaper one moment, and clamor for her ma's approval the next. She was a sweet, sarcastic nerd of a substitute teacher, who loved to stay in on Saturday nights and read a book. Her hilarious and appealing portrayal made many viewers, young and old, adjust their Saturday night schedules so they could stay in and watch Dorothy's antics.

In later years, she stayed quite active, starring on Broadway in a one-woman show and guest-starring on hits such as Malcolm in the Middle and Curb Your Enthusiasm (as Larry's mother).

With Estelle Getty's passing last year, there are suddenly only two Golden Girls left.

It's sad to think of Rose and Blanche sitting at their kitchen table, with no one to deflect or deflate their stories. They'd drive each other crazy.

LOST: Namaste!, He's Our You and Whatever Happened, Happened

Sorry for the lack of LOST posts and the need to clump them all together. But, here goes.

"Namaste!"
It was interesting seeing everyone reunite, but I found the episode a little flat. I think this falls into the "all set-up, no action" category. Back in 1977, Jack, Kate and Hurley were introduced by Lefleur as new Dharma virgins who had just arrived by sub.
Meanwhile, back in 2007, Sun and Lapidus take off from the hydra island and run into none other than Christian Shepherd in old Dharmaville. He points out a picture from 1977 that clearly features Jack, Hurley and Sawyer with the other Dharma people.
Tidbits:
-Did Sawyer purposely assign Jack janitorial duties just to get his goat, or was it perhaps to keep an eye on Ben's dad, also a janitor?
-Did Juliet really forget to put Kate on the list, or was she just trying to make her sweat? I like the latter theory.
-Much has been made of a screen grab that supposedly shows a blonde woman standing behind Sun. Do we think this is supposed to be Claire, or was it a crew member who wandered into the shot by mistake?
-We finally learn the identity of the baby Juliet delivered: it's Ethan! B-

"He's Our You"
This episode seems to be a turning point: the narrative is returning to the show's original style, in which one character's plot details are filled in through flashbacks over the course of one episode. This time it's Sayid's turn, and we finally learn why he was Ajira Flight 316 headed back to the island.
The short answer: he met Ilana in a bar, they had a fun time, and then she arrested him on behalf of a family of one of his victims from when he was working for Ben. How convenient.
Back on the island in 1977, the Dharma crew bring out the Sayid equivalent (a guy named Oldham) to drug the guy into telling the truth about where he came from. That he does, but no one believes him because it sounds so ridiculous.
Later, Young Ben lets Sayid go into the wild. When they run into Jin, Sayid knocks him unconscious, takes his gun – and fills Young Ben with lead.
Tidbits:
-Shocking ending, no? I was screaming, "He's gonna do it!" when Sayid picked up the gun.
-When Ben gets on the plane, doesn't he looked shocked – and somewhat frightened – to see Sayid sitting there? Does that mean he had nothing to do with getting him on that flight?
-Who is Ilana really working for – Ben? Widmore? Herself?
-Best quote of the night, courtesy of Sayid: "A 12-year-old Ben Linus just brought me a chicken sandwich. How do you think I'm doing?" B+

"Whatever Happened, Happened"
And now it's Kate's turn. We got a lot of answers in this episode: Why did Kate leave Aaron to come back to the island? Check. What happened to Aaron? Check. What did Sawyer tell Kate on the helicopter? Check. What has become of Clementine? Check. Not much was left dangling with Kate's back story.
On the island, Hurley and Miles had a funny exchange in which our time travel questions are dissected. Hurley seems more and more to be the audience personified: he keeps asking pertinent and rather simple questions that peak our interest.
Meanwhile, with Jack refusing to help, Kate and Juliet took matters into their own hands and took Ben to the only person they could think of to help – Richard Alpert. Ben was taken to the Temple, where Richard claimed he would forget what happened and "lose his innocence." So, did Kate and Juliet just create the monster we know Ben will grow into?
The last scene, back in 2007, with Locke telling Ben "welcome to the land of the living," was a perfect set-up for next week's Ben-centric outing.
Tidbits:
-Were we supposed to think the woman who took Aaron's hand in the grocery store was a plant? She looked eerily like Claire. Could Ben have orchestrated everything to make Kate want to give him up?
-For a while I suspected Cassidy might poison Kate or at least bitch-slap her, but no such luck.
-We've seen various versions of the scene in the California marina now. It's clearly important, and I think next week we'll find out why.
-Does anyone think Kate had any other motivations for going back to the island – besides trying to find Claire? B+

The Light has gone out

Now, I don't pay attention to soaps. Not at all.

But it did catch my eye that CBS is canceling the oldest running drama series in television history, Guiding Light.

The only reason I care? The show has been on TV almost since its inception - it premiered on television in 1952 - and was first broadcast on radio in 1937. That's 72 years this thing has been on the air.

Can you imagine what a big deal it would be if TV executives cancelled 60 Minutes (first on in 1968) or The Simpsons (1989)? Well, this is an even bigger deal. CBS has pledged to replace the show with a game or talk show in the fall.

I never watched Guiding Light but its cancellation will alter television history.