TV Geek Out 138: The Office, "Company Picnic"

Do you wish your office summer parties were more or less like the one depicted in "Company Picnic," the season-five finale of The Office? Michael sees Holly again and the two perform a hilariously inappropriate version of Slumdog Millionaire, the Scranton gang exact revenge on the Dunder Mifflin executives in a fiercely competitive volleyball match, and we learn that Pam has a particular medical condition that should go away in about nine months. Listen in as TV geeks Perry, Dana, and Heather heap praise on the always amazing Amy Ryan, fawn over Dwight’s best friend, and debate the relative merits of The Office’s fifth season. Check it all out here.

TV Geek Out 137: Lost, "Sundown"

"Sundown"'s name played a trick on die-hard Lost fans, who had noticed that until then, the main character of each season-six episode mirrored those of season one. But instead of revolving around Sun like the name implies (good thing, too -- it sounds like she dies in it!), "Sundown" plunged Sayid into literal and spiritual darkness as night fell on the island. And unlike some of the more ruminative episodes before it, this one is action-packed, from Sayid and Dogen's brilliantly choreographed fight to Smokey playing smashy-smashy with the hapless Others who chose to stay in the temple rather than follow him. We also got a steely -- but still quite insane -- Claire, a take-charge Ilana, a bewildered Kate and a seriously creeped-out Ben, so you know this episode truly was dark. Meanwhile, Sayid's flash-sideways suggested that there may be some connection between the actions of the Losties on the island and their parallel fates. All of this sparked a TV Geek Out discussion about issues like life, death, fate, free will, Old and New Testament God -- you know, the little things. Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 136: Oscars Chat

Well, Oscar night proved to be a chore for one of the TV Geek Out crew. Find out if Dana, Heather, or Perry spent most of the night yelling at their TV as the trio discuss the chances that Doogie Howser will one day host the big show, praise the best presenters, and put the movie year of 2009 to bed. Check it all out here!

TV Geek Out 135: Lost, "Lighthouse"

TV Geek Out covers the Jack-centric season-6 episode "Lighthouse," in which Hurley and Jack go on a mission from Jacob, and crazy Claire tends to Jin's wounded leg and interrogates the life out of an Other. In the flash-sideways, we find out that Jack has a teenage son, but -- surprise, surprise -- the two have a strained relationship. Jack makes strides toward mending things with the boy, and in so doing, starts working through his own daddy issues. Island Jack has much less clarity of purpose, and when his trip with Hurley takes them to a mysterious lighthouse, he learns that Jacob has been spying on many of them since they were children. This leads Jack to smash things and stare out at the ocean, but it all seems to be part of Jacob's twisted plan. TV Geeks Dana and Heather tackle this one sans Perry, debating the direction of the season and the quality of the episode, and discussing everything from the symbolism of mirrors to Alice in Wonderland references, tie-ins to season-one episodes, and how dashing Dogen looks in a suit. Check it all out here.

TV Geek Out 134: Lost, "The Substitute"

TV Geek Out covers the first Locke episode of Lost's 6th season, "The Substitute," in this epic discussion. The flash-sideways follow Locke as he gets home from his trip to Australia, and we find out that he's still with Helen in this reality, and they're even engaged to be married! After getting fired from his job, he runs into a very upbeat Hurley, who hooks him up with some employment services. There, Locke meets Rose, who still has cancer, and she helps him come to terms with his limitations. Later, when Locke gives up on trying to get fixed and comes clean to Helen about his activities in Australia, the two have a very sweet heart-to-heart. Locke's new job turns out to be as a substitute teacher at a high school, where he meets... Ben Linus, European History teacher! On the island, UnLocke has a little chat with Alpert, in which it comes to light just how much Jacob had kept Richard in the dark. UnLocke asks him to come away with him, but he's rebuffed, so he moves on to a very drunk Sawyer in New Otherton. As Ilana tells Ben over the remains of Jacob, UnLocke is recruiting, and he does his darnedest to win over James Ford. It takes a trip down Jacob's ladder and into a dark cave, but the episode ends with a "hell yes!" from Sawyer, so UnLocke seems to have added a member to his entourage. Listen in as Dana, Heather, and Perry geek out about the return of The Numbers, the awesomeness of FranticRichard, and the surprise flash-sideways appearance of Ben; ponder who the mysterious young boy in the jungle is; and chat about all the other goings-on here.

TV Geek Out 133: Lost, "What Kate Does"

TV Geek Out is back to our coverage of Lost's 6th season with this discussion of "What Kate Does." Yes, Darlton dared to give us a Kate-isode as the follow-up to the awesome season premiere, and a lot of viewers were not happy, to put it mildly! Even here at the Geek Out, opinions were varied. The episode's flash-sideways focus on Kate's taxi-cab getaway from the airport, with Claire in tow. Kate winds up magically transforming the pregnant girl from a frightened hostage into a trusting friend when she helps her out and even takes her to the hospital after she goes into premature labor. In the island storyline, Sawyer makes his own getaway from the Temple, and Kate, Jin, and a couple of Others head out on a mission to retrieve him. It's not long before Kate has ditched the posse, and she heads to New Otherton on her own, where she finds Sawyer in no mood for company. Meanwhile, Dogen tortures Sayid to test his true allegiance, and determines that he's been infected and "claimed," and tries to get Jack to give him a pill -- filled with poison! All this, and Jin runs into the long-lost Claire -- looking extremely disheveled -- in the jungle when she takes out the Others he's with just as they're about to kill him. Listen in as Perry, Dana, and Heather have a lively debate over the quality of Kate-isodes, freak out over the surprise appearance of Dr. Ethan in L.A., praise the acting of Josh Holloway, and more here.

TV Geek Out 132: 2010 Oscar Nominations

Sure, we like to geek out about TV, but some us actually geek out even harder over movies, and the Oscars offer us the prime opportunity to indulge. Listen in as Dana, Heather, and Perry break down the nominations, offer insight into how having ten Best Picture nominees affects the race, and pray that Meryl Streep wins an Academy Award for the first time in over 25 years. Check it all out here!

TV Geek Out 131: Lost, "LA X," Part 2

TVGO returns with the second part of our "LA X" discussion, in which we talk about the aftermath of Jacob's murder in the foot of the statue. Among other things, Ben finds out that the real Locke is dead and that his impostor is actually also the Smoke Monster -- when he changes form and kills all of the armed men Ilana sends into the crumbling structure! UnLocke then terrifies Ben some more as he chats with him about how pitiful Locke was and shares the man's dying thoughts with his murderer. When UnLocke finally emerges, he sets his sights on Richard, they exchange some cryptic dialogue, and he knocks Alpert out with a few frighteningly strong blows and carries him into the jungle. Meanwhile, the group that just traveled back to the future from the '70s heads to the Temple, where they're quickly caught by some other Others, lead by an awesome samurai. Some quick thinking by Hurley gets the Others to spare their lives and then attempt to "save" the dying Sayid. It doesn't work... until several minutes later when Sayid seemingly comes back from the dead! Listen in as Heather, Perry, and Dana discuss all the goings-on and theorize about the coming season here!

TV Geek Out 130: Lost, "LA X," Part 1

TV Geek Out's coverage of Lost season 6 begins with a 2-part discussion of the mind-bending premiere, "LA X." Lost is finally back, and the biggest news is the introduction of what seems to be a new reality/timeline in which the plane does land safely in LA, and the island is submerged underwater! In addition, the story on the island continues, as Kate, Jin, Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sawyer -- and a not-quite-dead-yet Juliet -- are transported back to "present day" and have to deal with their seeming failure to reset the timeline. Yep, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are sure as hell not playing it safe for the final season, and their new "narrative device" is proving to be more challenging and controversial than perhaps even season 5's adventures in time travel. Listen in as TV geeks Dana, Perry, and Heather debate all the new developments, mourn Juliet (again!), and exchange theories on just what the heck might be happening in the crazy world -- er, worlds? -- of Lost. Check it all out here.

Also, stay tuned for the second part of our chat, in which we delve into the aftermath of Jacob's murder and geek out about finally getting to see the Temple!

TV Geek Out 129: Lost, "The Incident," Part 2

In this second part of TVGO's discussion of Lost's awesome season-5 finale, "The Incident," we talk about the "present-time" events and discuss the ramifications of everything that occurs. On their journey to see Jacob, Locke drops his own bomb on Ben -- he wants Ben to kill Jacob. When they eventually make it to Jacob's abode, we find out that he lives in the foot of the four-toed statue! Locke insists on taking Ben in with him to see Jacob, much to the chagrin of Richard. Meanwhile, Ilana and co., along with Lapidus and the mysterious big crate, make their way to the same place, arriving at the foot shortly after Ben and Locke have gone in. They reveal the startling contents of the box -- the dead body of Locke! Inside the foot, we learn that the man who appears to be Locke is an impostor, and is in fact the Man in Black from the long-ago flashback with Jacob; he's found a "loophole" and has manipulated Ben into stabbing Jacob to death. Back in the '70s, it turns out that Juliet is still alive, though gravely injured, at the bottom of the shaft of the Swan site, and she uses all of her might to trigger the bomb by bashing it with a rock... and the screen goes white! Listen in as TV geeks Heather, Dana, and Perry finish their discussion of all the goings-on here.