Stop by and check out this online magazine featuring a talented team of writers giving you news and editorials on the subjects you’re interested in. In the near future we will be starting a podcast to deliver this information in a different and even more entertaining format, so hop aboard now and embark on the journey with us.

Part 2/2:

#5 – Jack Shephard

Wikipedia summary: “A neurosurgeon with father issues, Jack is the survivors’ leader. He has feelings for Kate. After escaping the island, he ends up in a relationship with Kate but after a dramatic breakup he becomes drug-addicted and suicidal because he longs to return to the island to save everyone left behind, and return to his relationship with Kate. He returns to the island and appears in 1977 with Kate and Hurley, and they all join the Dharma Initiative.”

My thoughts: As the hero and the leader early on, Jack had the potential to be the best character. He was determined to a fault and it was admirable. The problem with Jack is that he’s so contradictory. For someone so determined and brave, he was often a coward when it came to Kate. He also suffered from the most unsympathetic, to me, of all the character flaws. He had a huge drinking and drug problem, and it was all to escape that which pained him. For a character that’s depicted as being so brave, falling into that world is an incredibly cowardly path. If it was something that came up in his past, like Charlie, it wouldn’t have mattered as much, but we saw how much he crumbled after initially returning from the island. In the 5th season, he seems to have gained some of the faith that Locke had been trying to push on him for so long and has emerged as a leader again, but at this point his character is motivated much more by helping himself than others.

#4 – John Locke

Wikipedia summary: “After having his paralysis healed during the crash, Locke lives out his dreams of becoming a hunter on the Island. John Locke is also the name of a philosopher. Being a man of faith, he believes he has a special connection with the island, leading him to clash with man-of-science Jack. Having been “chosen,” Locke becomes the leader of the Others at the end of the fourth season. Locke is eventually murdered by Ben shortly after leaving the island. When most of the “Oceanic Six” survivors return to the island, they transport Locke’s body with them. Locke apparently returns to life, but this is revealed to be a deception; Locke is still dead, and the individual in Locke’s form is actually Jacob’s rival.”

My thoughts: In the first few seasons, Locke was a very likable character. He felt like the “wise old sage” that seemed to have the experience and story to fit any problem anyone was having. His connection to the island through his regained ability to walk and his dreams was the first big sign that this place was something much more than a normal island. He also has a huge set of survival skills along with the ability to turn badass at the drop of a hat. While this stuff is all cool, having it paired with such a tragic background really made Locke stand out. I found myself cheering for him at every turn and hoping he would succeed with whatever he attempted. He would be higher up on the list, but I found that after the introduction of Ben and The Others his character started to take a turn for the worst and I just wasn’t cheering for him as much.

#3 – Daniel Faraday

Wikipedia summary: “Faraday is a physicist hired to go to the Island by Charles Widmore. He initially claims to have intentions to save the 815 crash survivors, but this proves to be untrue. Daniel is connected to Desmond in several ways – Desmond visits him at Oxford during a flashback in time. Later, when John moves the island, Daniel travels back in time and visits Desmond in the hatch, to tell him how to save the island. Even though he initially lied about his intent to save the survivors, Daniel ends up ferrying several of them, including Sun and Jin, to the Kahana. He is the son of Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore. He is shot and killed by his mother in the season 5 episode The Variable.”

My thoughts: Donatello was my favorite ninja turtle. I like smart characters, always have, and Faraday’s brilliant. Not only is he intelligent, but he’s just plain likable. He’s the first of Widmore’s group to really trust anyone on the island. While the audience is led to believe he might have bad intentions, it turns out he’s always just been trying to help out. One thing that I find particularly interesting is his connection to Desmond. He even jots down in his journal that Desmond is his “constant.” This becomes even more interesting when we learn that unknown to him or her, Daniel is actually Penny’s brother (or half-brother, they weren’t that obvious yet).

#2 – Mr. Eko

Wikipedia summary: “Mr. Eko is a former Nigerian drug lord turned priest who crashes on the island with the tail section survivors. For the first 40 days, he does not speak. Upon joining the fuselage survivors’ camp, Eko becomes part of the group involved in pressing a button in a hatch. He begins building a church on the island with Charlie, but this is abandoned when he becomes obsessed with the hatch and the button within. Eko is haunted by visions of his brother, who died in Nigeria and whose body was on a plane that crashed on the island before Eko’s arrival. These visions lead Eko and John to discover another Dharma station. Eko meets the smoke monster on more than one occasion in the Island’s forests, and is eventually killed by it.”

My thoughts: Mr. Eko is awesome. Sure, he might start off with one of the most evil back stories out of anyone, but for some reason it becomes more acceptable when you see how he went down that path in the first place. There’s always something interesting about someone on a mission of redemption as Eko decides to become a priest and swing his life in the other direction entirely. Like Locke, Mr. Eko has a mysticism about him, being one of the few characters that truly connects with the island on a spiritual level. Also like Locke, he can become a total badass when the situation calls for it. I was annoyed more by his death than anyone’s because it felt very unnecessary.

#1 – Desmond Hume

Wikipedia summary: “Desmond, a former monk and member of the Royal Scots Regiment, undertakes a boat race around the world after splitting with his girlfriend Penelope Widmore. He shipwrecks on the island while on this race, and he lives in a hatch for three years, pressing a button every 108 minutes. One day he neglects to push the button, and on this day Flight 815 crashes. The survivors find the hatch and blow it open, and when they take over pushing the button he attempts (unsuccessfully) to escape the island. After he returns to the island, he moves in with the crash survivors. At the start of the third season, Desmond starts seeing flashes of future events, most of them being about Charlie’s death. Later, he experiences flashes into the past. He escapes the Island with the Oceanic Six at the end of season four and is reunited with his girlfriend, Penny. They are married and have a baby boy named Charlie. Desmond has various meetings with Eloise Hawking who urges him not to marry Penny Widmore. He later finds out she is Daniel Faraday’s mother, locates her through Charles Widmore, and visits her at the Lamppost.”

My thoughts: I simply find Desmond to be the most charismatic and interesting character on the show. He has so many things going on between being in the hatch for so long, having visions of the future, time travelling, and his constant mission to reunite with Penny. Compared with so many of the other characters, he also seems to be one of the few that doesn’t have any huge character flaws. If anything, his worst is that he trusted Eloise and thought he had a destiny to follow. Desmond is also fascinating because it feels like his is the only character without any true, set destiny. This gives him the most potential to create change, as was backed up by Faraday. I’m curious to see what role he will play in the final season. I also have a feeling “brotha” might become part of my regular speech pattern.

Plot summary (courtesy of IMDB)

“Bruce Greenwood stars as documentary photographer Thomas Veil who, in the course of one evening, seemingly has his whole existence erased, in the compelling one-hour drama Nowhere Man. It appears as if some mysterious and powerful entity has coerced Veil’s family and friends into cooperating in a clandestine plan to annul every trace of him. Veil is all alone with no option but to begin a desperate, dangerous quest to find out how and why this has happened and most importantly, who is behind this torturous scheme.”

Why was it so great?

I’m not quite sure this show could have been written any better. The premise was just great. Every episode your heart was 100% behind the guy, hoping that he’d finally find that one piece of the puzzle that would save him from the misery the conspirators put him into. Sadly, since the show only ran one season, we’ll never truly know.

2) Batman Beyond

Plot summary (courtesy of IMDB)

“At least 40 years after the ‘current’ adventures of Batman and 20 years after Bruce Wayne retired from the role, his secret is discovered by troubled teen Terry McGinnis. After McGinnis’ father is murdered by the man who took over Bruce Wayne’s company, McGinnis dons a high-tech Bat suit that Wayne last used, creating a new hero for a future Gotham.”

Why was it so great?

I admittedly was very scared to see this show debut. As a big Batman fan, I wanted there to only be one Batman, that being Bruce Wayne. The way this show succeeded was not by creating a rip-off of a young Bruce or even borrowing the personality of Robin, but by creating an entirely original character in the Batman universe to wear an entirely new Bat-suit. In its three years on TV, Batman Beyond creating an acceptable and very enjoyable “Elseworld” extension of the Batman universe. Unfortunately it was cut short only because the creative team wanted to move onto something new…Justice League.

3) Jack & Bobby

Plot summary (courtesy of Wikipedia)

“The show followed the lives of teenaged Jack and Bobby (Robert) McCallister as they went to high school and generally matured. Much conflict was generated between the boys and their mother, Grace, who was at once both domineering and unreliable.

The main storyline was paralleled by a series of interviews with figures associated with the McCallister presidency, who spoke of events from Robert McCallister’s later life. Typically, there was a thematic link between the main plot, set during Bobby’s childhood/adolescence, and the reminiscences of his adult life and political career.”

Why was it so great?

Great writing, great characters, great performances. This show had everything going for it. I’m still in disbelief that shows like this go unnoticed while American Idol continues to be renewed year after year. Clearly the cancellation of Jack & Bobby after only one season shows the true collective intelligence of our country in terms of entertainment. This was a smart, funny, and yet incredibly touching show that dared to be fantastic while mediocrity was the norm.

For those interested, the series can be watched in its entirety at TheWB.com.

4) Sports Night

Plot summary (courtesy of Wikipedia)

“Sports Night is an American television series about a fictional sports news show (also called Sports Night) and the people who work there. It focuses on the friendships, pitfalls, and ethical issues they face while trying to produce a good show under constant network pressure.”

Why was it so great?

To know how truly great this show is, all you need to know is how big of a sports fan I am NOT. This show was not so much about the sports, but the behind-the-scenes of a television show. I like my tongue-in-cheek, witty banter (just like Gilmore Girls) and this show has plenty of it.

5) Dark Angel

Plot summary (courtesy of IMDB)

“In a future of political, economic and moral collapse, a genetically enhanced superhuman prototype named Max escapes from military confines and dwells amidst the decadent underground street life of *Seattle* to avoid government agents who want to bring her back into the fold. Searching for others of her kind who were scattered in the aftermath of her escape, Max encounters Logan, an idealistic cyber-journalist battling repression and corruption in post-apocalypse America. Eventually, Logan calls her to the highest part of her being and Max becomes his samurai as the pair takes on the ruthless power-brokers of the new millennium. Max and Logan’s odyssey leads them closer to the secret of her past, deepening and complicating their relationship in the process.”

Why was it so great?

Jessica Alba’s hottest moments…but seriously, it was a good show regardless. It wasn’t necessarily the most thought-provoking show, but the entertainment value was still there. This show had a good mix of sci-fi, action, humor, drama…just about something for everyone.

#10 – Missy Peregrym – “Reaper”

#9 – Eliza Dushku – “Dollhouse”

#8 – Erica Durance – “Smallville”

#7 – Barbie Blank aka Kelly Kelly – “WWE RAW”

#6 – Ali Larter – “Heroes”

#5 – Danneel Harris – “One Tree Hill”

#4 – Bridget Regan – “Legend of the Seeker”

#3 – Katherine Heigl – “Grey’s Anatomy”

#2 – Sophia Bush – “One Tree Hill”

#1 – Emmanuelle Vaugier – “CSI:NY”