In a vain attempt to claw back some chronological order for the Lost commentaries, John is joined via speakerphone by Brandon for a chat about the first part of the episode that started it all. (That's the pilot for you Tail section types...)

Much general discussion of the nature of the show and its success ensues, along with the requisite 5 minutes of intense debate over Jack's regenerating haircut.

The audio quality of Brandon's half isn't quite as good as on the last Buffy track, who knows why, but I've done my best to balance out the volume where I can.

The disembodied voice of Brandon Ortega joins me via speakerphone, or via my unstable psyche, I forget which. In any case, we talk about the second episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's second season, Some Assembly Required. As we first discover during this episode, in Sunnydale, there are many different ways to bring someone back from the dead. Two students apply the classic, Frankenstein method. They're hoping to revive the promise of a once great football hero. He's been totally off his game ever since he caught a slight case of death.

Unfortunately, the guy gets greedy and demands a mate. They decide to go after Cordelia Chase and her pretty, little head to complete the jigsaw puzzle of body parts. Sounds like the perfect plan to me. She is, after all, the apex of the cheerleading pyramid. If this episode teaches you anything, it's that dead guys need love, too.

Having failed to set up a conference call so John, Tom and I could record a new episode, I head back to the grindstone (which is shaped oddly like a microphone...) to record another solo Lost commentary to fill the void.

As befits any last minute substitute, I go into The Glass Ballerina with no notes whatsoever and an MPEG file sans subtitles. Recipe for success? You decide...

As before, this commentary comes in two exciting varieties to maximise the chances of it synching up with the episode. You only need download the version specific to your region as the content is identical:


Notes:
LOSTCasts: The Glass Ballerina
Official Lost podcast

Finally, I have returned from my extensive hiatus. I'm back, I'm bad and I'm spreading the Buffy love....Eeeewww. Nevermind. Forget what I just said. In an attempt to bring back some semblance of order and chronology, I tackle the opener for season two, When She Was Bad. In it, Buffy returns to Sunnydale after her own little hiatus. She brings along with her a major Joan Collins 'tude. Could her new Bitca vibes be connected to the resurrecting power of The Master's remains? Yeah, sure. Why not?

Meanwhile, Willow's got something on her face (a cuteness booger, I call it) and Xander does a little Dirty Dancing with the Buffster to the sensuous sounds of Cibo Matto. Well actually, it's more like he just stands there while The Slayer grinds up against him, but honestly I'd be paralyzed from the neck down, too. :)

It feels great to back in the saddle, and by saddle, I mean of course my squeaky computer chair!

With the new season of Lost coming to the UK much earlier than predicted, I decided to get a jump on the commentaries and record some before the DVD is even out. Foolhardy? Maybe. Courageous? Not really.

Join me as I struggle through my extensive (and hard to read) notes on the season 3 premiere, A Tale of Two Cities, in which Jack, Kate and Sawyer discover that The Others really just wanted to be their friends all along. And what better way to start a new friendship than with imprisonment, intimidation and a spot of behavioural conditioning. It gets even better next episode: they get to do some heavy lifting too!

This commentary comes in two delicious flavours to maximise the chances of it actually synching up with the episode. You only need download the version specific to your region as the content is identical:


Notes:
LOSTCasts: A Tale of Two Cities - lots of interesting observations and conjecture on the episode
Screencap of the Hydra logo at Wikipedia

The forum can now be reached at the much easier to remember forum.sofadogs.com and likewise the website at www.sofadogs.com.

Right on time, John and Brandon deliver another in absentia Buffy commentary. The episode in question, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, is a season 2 highlight which sees Xander channel the very best of The Average White Band as a love spell goes awry. Join the guys as they attempt to solve the greatest ethical conundrum posed in the entire 7 season run: if you were Xander, would you unwrap Buffy?

Fall TV mini-update: I just saw the pilot episode of Standoff and quite enjoyed it. Perfect timing then for Fox to order another 3 scripts and bring the running tally for season 1 to 19 episodes. Here's hoping they make it to 22...

Been watching any of the shows we talked about in the Fall preview? Find out how they're all fairing as the networks begin pruning their schedules of dead weight while trying to resuscitate those shows that just might make it to Spring.

Confession: poor choice of microphone plus sore throat does not good audio quality make.

Notes:
ABC.com (Six Degrees, The Nine)
CBS Innertube (Jericho, Smith)
Fox On Demand (Standoff, Vanished)
NBC.com Video (Kidnapped)

Al, Bill and David Watch TV
FireflyTalk
The 9th - A Heroes Podcast
Two Girls and a Podcast

In perfect time for me developing a sore throat, here comes a dusty volume from the archives to save the day. Although House of the Dead was the first commentary Brandon appeared on that was posted to the website, he and John actually recorded two Buffy tracks for season 2 episodes some time beforehand. To spare my vocal chords for the week I present the first of these, recorded for episode 3 of season 2, School Hard, in which a certain peroxide blonde makes his first appearance. And to think they were going to kill him off before the end of the season...

Take 2 of the Tom & Stu show sees us leapfrog 5 episodes (I doubt anything important happened in them...) to get to the Lost: The Tail Section season 1 recap episode, also known as The Other 48 Days.

The microphone merry-go-round continues as we employ our newest headset mic with super-duper in-built noise reduction. Still, audio is a bit on the rustly side (not least because I rustle my fair share of paper).

Notes:

Lostpedia: 'car in the background' goof screen cap (judge for yourself!)

In an effort to mix up the voices you're hearing, for next week I'll be digging up 1 of 2 Buffy commentaries John and Brandon recorded some time ago . We were holding them back to be released in chronological order (they're for School Hard and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered) but, hey, if this isn't the time to make use of spare episodes I don't know when is.

Against all odds I managed to convince my brother Tom to join me for a tour de stade of episode 1 of Lost season 2. Given that we haven't recorded a joint commentary for nearly a year, and the fact that the recording setup was different to what I usually use (which isn't that great in the first place...), the sound quality is not the greatest. Also, since I'd forgotten about 75 percent of this episode takes place in the dark, we tend to drift into general season 2 chat and therefore there are spoilers abound for the entire season.

[Scottish accent]Enjoy the show, brother.

Notes:
The Official Lost Podcast
Official Lost Podcast archive at dharmasecrets.com
Lost 'Hatch' Counter-Strike Source Map (video tour)