Random Statistics

I just finished Season 3 of Lost (incidentally, does every season have to end on a cliffhanger?), and was poking around the Lostpedia, and came across this page. It counts the number of times Hugo Hurley says "Dude" in each episode. Now, this is his "stock phrase," but I'm not sure it would have occurred to me to count how often he uses it.

There's also a list of all the most frequently used catch-phrases. The one that I really noticed was "Don't tell me what I can't do!" It's most often said by Locke, but Jack's said it a few times, and I think there are a few others who have said it. Wait, Ben actually said that at some point in the third season. Of course, Ben seems to be an insane, megalomaniacal liar (emphasis on seems, since nothing is ever certain on this show).

As far as Lost goes, it's still amazingly well done. I didn't like Season 2 quite as well as Seasons 1 or 3, but all were quite enjoyable. I'm not sure how much of a hurry I'm in to get Season 4, simply because Season 5 won't be available until November (and Season 6, presumably, the November after that). Ah well.

Vaguely related note: Seeing Star Trek while in the middle of watching Lost made me notice some common features, presumably due to JJ Abrams' influence. First, he seems to have a soft spot for (or possibly mild obsession with) pregnancy; it's less obvious in Star Trek than in Lost, though. There was also a long, oddly lit corridor used in both works (on the ice planet in Star Trek, and at the medical station in Lost). Also, one thing that either Abrams or his writers does/do very well is to make the plot solidly work with the characters. With the massive ensemble cast in Lost, that's very important. With something like Star Trek, where fans know the characters already, it's arguably even more important.

Odd coincidence, I just realized: I started re-watching Buffy Season 4 just after finishing Lost Season 3. Strangely, Buffy 4 does not resolve any of the issues of Lost 3...