Let the Games Begin!

Posted on June 10, 2010 by admin

Tonight takes place the opening ceremony of what is considered by most sport fans in the world with the exception of (some) Americans the greatest sport competition of the planet – the FIFA World Cup Final Tournament. I am no fan of opening ceremonies, for me the sports action is what counts, so today is still a day of relaxation and expectation before the games that start tomorrow. However, starting with tomorrow, if you will find me less active on the blog, you know the reason.

There are many intriguing questions related to this tournament. Will South Africa prove itself as a competent host for a competition that draws so much attention and passion from people from all over the world? Will any of the African teams be able to use the continental advantage at the same extent the Asian teams use it in the Japan-Korea World Cup eight years ago? Which one of the big stars of the moment will shine brighter – Messi? Ronaldo? Rooney? Robben? Who will be the Cinderella team of this World Cup? Who will win? Who will mark more goals? Who will go home disappointed first?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07K_kHV7BXk&feature=related

(video source TerenceLFC)

With my two national teams safely watching the games from their sofas I can also relax and enjoy the tournament without big passions. I did chose however a favorite of mine, and the song selected for this blog entry hints about who they are. The hip-hop version of ‘Shout for England’ sang by James Corden and Dizzee Rascal is a mix of a song from the 80s by Tears for Fears.

There are less than 24 hours before the first two teams enter the field. By tomorrow the four years wait is over. Let the games begin!

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The Maltese Week / 13 – St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta

Posted on June 9, 2010 by admin

facade of St. John's Co-Cathedral

St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta is not only the most visited tourist attraction on the island, but also one of the most beautiful churches and religious monuments in Europe. It is located in the center of the city of Valletta and was built between the years 1573 and 1578, the years of the foundation of the city following the Grand Siege of Malta. Its austere exterior reminds a military fortification, and this is no coincidence. The architect who was commissioned with designing and building the church was Gerolamo Cassar. Descendant of a well known Maltese family, Cassar was a knight, a military architect and an inventor of military machines during the siege. His architectural contributions to the shape took by the city of Valletta include beside the Co-Cathedral the Palace of the Grand Masters and several of the knights auberges – actually palaces that are today part of the Valletta original look.

the Co-Cathedral Interior

The simple exterior makes even stronger the impact of the viewer with the rich decoration, opulence and elegance of the Baroque style interior. Much of the design of the interior is attributed to master Mattia Preti, who also authored some of the paintings in the chapels and ceiling. The big WOW reaction of many of the visitors is by no means exaggerated. Some of the relief and decorations are not built separately and applied to the structure, but carved directly in the limestone which is the material of building of choice in Malta, the church being no exception.

tombstones in the Co-Cathedral floor

It is not only the walls but also the floor of the co-cathedral that impresses the visitors. Inlaid marble tombs cover the almost the whole surfaces, and each of the tombs is a work of art by itself, inviting admiration for their beauty and reflection about the passing nature of life and things in this world.

icon

chapel

On the two sides of the church there are several splendid chapels, each one richly decorated with paintings, sculptures and carvings. Eight of them are dedicated to the eight langues that were used by the knights of St. John coming from the different nations of Europe.

a Grand Master's Tomb

Also of a great beauty are some of the tombs of the Grand Masters and bishops who are buried in the church. For more than two centuries between the inauguration until the occupation of the island by Napoleon’s army the church hosted the throne of the Grand Master. During the British rule this was taken over by the governor, and now it belongs to the bishop, who shares his time between this church and the one in Mdina, hence the designation of the church as a co-cathedral.

Beheading of St. John the Baptist by Caravaggio - source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Co-Cathedral

The museum of the cathedral hosts several remarkable pieces of art as well as objects and documents related to the functions and history of the building. The cornerstones of the collection are beyond any doubt the two works of Caravaggio painted during the artist’s stay here in 1607 and 1608. Running away from Rome where he had killed a man in a street fight, Caravaggio arrived here and was made in a short time knight (quite an exception as he was no soldier and not of noble origin) and commissioned to paint several works among which the two kept nowadays in the cathedral museum. He soon got himself again into trouble, fought a fellow knight, was arrested and imprisoned, to escape in 1608 from prison and from the island. He was promptly expelled from the order. Seeing the two works at their original place was a beautiful continuation of the visit I had paid a few days ago at the great Caravaggio retrospective at Quirinale in Rome.

St. Jerome Writing by Caravaggio - source http://www.stjohnscocathedral.com/caravaggio.html

The co-cathedral has a beautiful web site – http://www.stjohnscocathedral.com/

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The Maltese Week / 12 – The Megalithic Temples

Posted on June 8, 2010 by admin

The relative isolation of Malta as an island in the center of the Mediterranean, while still accessible to navigation allowed for the early development of a civilization that built an impressive number of monuments comparable to the Stonehenge megalithic structures, as well as to their preservation in time, relatively better kept ways from the invasions and conquests that overturned the earth of Europe.

Hagar Qim

There are 17 such sites on the islands of Malta and Gozo, five of them are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, and considered among the oldest religious sites on the surface of Earth. The period when they were built extends from 3600 BC in the stone age to 2500 BC in the bronze age. The population that built the temples came around 4500 BC from Sicily. By 2500 the Temple Culture disappears, and the reasons are not clear – natural catastrophe, disease, or social unrest. What is known is that after that date the settlements start to look very similar to other neighboring bronze age structures, and the usage of the temples is completely abandoned. The ruins are rediscovered in the 18th and 19th century, when they begin to be studied scientifically.

altar at Hagar Qim

The first site that we visited was Hagar Qim, located on a hill near the Southern coast of the island. The structure is nowadays protected from rain and winds by a metallic tent-like structure. A visitors center is yet to be built with European funds, actually we encountered this type of announcement in several other places, it looks like investments were made, work started, but not completed at least until the time we visited there. There are three separate structure grouped in a flower-like shape, with utility rooms, and other enclosures whose destination can only be supposed nowadays.

Mnajdra

temple entrance at Mnajdra

walls at Mnajdra

At a distance of 500 meters from Hagar Qin stands the temple of Mnajdra. It is built actually earlier than Hagar Qin, but the stronger coraline limestone used allowed for better preservation. There seem to be three temple structures in Mnajdra as well, but they are arranged in line. The form of the entrance and the remains of the pillars indicate that a vaulted roof covered the whole complex.

goddess at Tarxien

sarcophagus at Tarxien

The Tarxien temples that we visited the next day as part of our guided tour are located in the village, so there is no good perspective of the original emplacement. We can find here again three temples, the most recent of the ones we visited, well, relatively recent, built between 3200 and 2800 BC in the bronze age. Many of the objects that were found here at the begining of the 20th century were taken to the Museum of Archeology in Valletta and museums in the US, but a few interesting ones are left – like the legs of a statue of the goddess of fertility, and a sarcophagus that indicates that the place was also a burial place. Other artifacts indicate that animal sacrifices were practiced in the temple, probably part of the religious rituals.

Ggantija walls

The last impressive site we visited was Ggantija, on the island of Gozo, where we arrived in the sixth day of our trip. That site is maybe the most spectacular that we have seen, and also the one that reminds mostly Stonehenge, with one massive round structure. It was built between 3600 and 3000, and it is being said to have hosted oracles, and considered to be a magic temple, with healing powers. A sacred permanent fired was maintained in the altars.

the altars inside the Ggantija temples

Unfortunately, we missed the Hypogeum site, which is an underground site which is said to be very impressive. A limited number of visitors can enter that site each day, and bookings must be made days in advance. However, we have seen a number of beautiful pieces of art and cult at the Museum of Archeology in Valletta, which will be the subject of a future episode.

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The Maltese Week / 11 – Food

Posted on June 7, 2010 by admin

Venus Restaurant in Bugibba

Let me start with the top. The best dinner we had during our Maltese week was in the Venus restaurant in Bugibba, the sea resort next to Qawra where we stayed, located by the St. Paul’s Bay, in the area where the man who is said to have given up kosher food for sea food shipwrecked around the year 60AD.  The menu is classical with a local twist, and it comes at very reasonable prices.

Venus - Minestra (vegetable stew)

Venus - Spinotta (bass fillet)

Venus - the desert

Maltese food is not spectacularly inventive. The local specialties seem to be at the intersection between closely geographic Italy and British imperial (and bad food) influence, using Mediterranean ingredients. You will get an olive-based spread with your bread as an appetizer, the Minestra (vegetable stew), Aljotta (the local version of bouillabaisse) or the rabbit stew if you ar adventurous as soups or main course. Fish is good (bass, grouper, red mullet) and probably preferable to the tourist level steaks. Pies or pastries filled with spinach, ham, anchovy, tuna, olives offer an alternative. The best deserts are based on dates and honey.

The Plum Tree

Le Beaujolais Noveau Est Arrive

A couple of other places were quite nice, the food was at least reasonable and the owners or waiters amiable and friendly. The fact that we visited the island out of season helped, none of the places was crowded, and the owners seemed happy to welcome customers. The Plum Tree in Qawra is one of these places, owned by a British couple, and decorated with stylish booze posters including classical Noveau Beujolais announcements from the previous century.

The Overflow

inside The Overflow

‘The Overflow’ is another such place, owned by a Brit named Clancy, who receives appreciation letters from customers and proudly displays them.

the La Valette red

I always try to explore the local wines, and I was guessing that Malta’s climate offers little excuse for local wine to be other than good. I was fortunate to have my hopes confirmed and to discover in the first or second evening a local brand called (what else?) La Valette, consistent, aromatic, and not too heavy, which made everybody at the table happy (even our beer drinker friends).

La Sorpresa

No surprise that the food at La Sorpresa was Italian. I do not remember much about it, but what I do remember was that they had TV sets all around and we could see Messi’s best game ever and Barcelona beating Arsenal 4-1.

The Golden Shell

Yes, we even had a Chinese dinner in Malta. The Golden Shell was located near our hotel, and the food was quite reasonable, as all the staff was genuinely Chinese.

Caffe Cordina - the chocolates stand

inside Caffe Cordina

Caffe Cordina

Located on Triq Ir-Republika (Republican Road) – the main street and topological axis of Valletta, the Caffe Cordina is one of the institutions of the principal city of Malta. While the street restaurant is routine tourist level, when entering the old building you get into a very different atmosphere – classy and elegant. The style and the chocolates stand reminded me Capsa in Bucharest.

food stand

No description of local food is complete without talking about the street food. This is however quite uninspired in Malta, and there is nothing special to talk about, no Belgian waffles, or Arabic falafel, or Greek gyro – maybe a variant of these here or there. The good looking sweet stands attract the tourists, which end by trying the local specialties which are variants of dates pastries, and Helwa tat-Tork which looks lesser than its Arabic halwa cousin and more like a sweet sugary mixture and sesame seeds that can come in various colors and flavors. I was not enthusiastic.

Kinnie

And yet, there is one local treat that I discovered only in the final days of the trip, and whose memory I took with me. Believe me or not – it’s a soft drink! It’s called Kinnie, looks like coke and tastes like a non-alcoholic Campari – a mix of herbs and orange flavors, absolutely charming. This is for me the taste of Malta.

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The Maltese Week / 10 – Marsaxlokk

Posted on June 6, 2010 by admin

Let us start with a short lesson in Maltese pronunciation. ‘x’ is read as ‘sh’ – so the name of the fishermen village I will tell about in this episode reads approximately as ‘Marsashlock’.

panoramic view of Marsaxlokk from the Delimara Point

Marsaxlokk is the biggest and most picturesque fishing village in Malta. It is located on the South-Eastern extremity of the island, in the Delimara Bay. We reached it twice, one during our car rental touring trip, and the second time when we stopped there for lunch (well, most people had lunch …) during the organized bus day trip we took to see the principal objectives in the Southern half of the island. It is in the first day when we took the panoramic picture you can see above, with most of the city and the gulf, infamously known in the Maltese history as the place where the Turkish fleet anchored during the 1565 war and debarked on the island.

church on the side of the road near the village

A beautiful church on the side of the road, near the city raises as a testimony to the religious feelings of the inhabitants and their passion for building churches. It’s a fishermen village, people are not very rich, yet this church is imposing, and it’s not even the principal church of the village.

house by the harbor

The streets are narrow, as you would expect in a Mediterranean fishermen village, but some of the houses are imposing, and interesting in the mix of styles. Look above at the house that I photographed near the harbor – limestone, ‘classical’ columns, Arabic style archs, the Maltese closed balcony.

Maltese Labour Party Flag

The front-line by the harbor is very typical to all the Mediterranean area, and reminds strikingly the harbor areas in Jaffo or in Akko. What was special was a HUGE flag of the Maltese Labor Party, I have no clue why there and why on that Sunday, but its dimensions would have made Ehud Barak dream.

fishing boats in the harbor

The fishing boats in the harbor were freshly painted in strong colors, it may be a local custom to paint them around Easter, in any case they were looking good.

fresh catch in the market

The first day we got there was a Sunday, and the local market was open and crowded working at maximum capacity. It is first of all a fish market, and the catch of the day is available in the market to buy, or in the restaurants on the sidewalk.

carpets in the Sunday market

But then it’s a general market as well, not different from a Turkish bazar, or from an Arabic or Israeli shoukh, and not very original either. We could by a few souvenirs and we did not buy any of the carpets above.

Malta Chardonnay

The next day Marsaxlokk was the stop for lunch. You will need however to ask our friends how was lunch in the village, as we chose to eat at the fish restaurant recommended by the tour guide (worst guide we ever had in a guided tour, did I say this? if now I say it now). It started all well with a fish soup and nice bottle of local Chardonnay, but then the fried fish platter never came until the time to leave. The kitchen of the restaurant was simply overflown by the group and could not keep the pace. We had a better dinner that night, and I will tell more about it in the episode dedicated to food in Malta.

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The Maltese Week / 9 – Lighthouses in Malta

Posted on June 5, 2010 by admin

Whoever knows me well also knows about my passion for visiting and photographing lighthouses whenever and wherever I have the occasion. I could not miss the opportunity during my vacation in Malta, a place which I suspected may have some beautiful such constructions, related to the naval history of this island located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean.

St. Elmo and Ricasoli

The first relevant place that I encountered was in the city of Valletta. A couple of lighthouses mark the entrance in the harbor on the East side of the peninsula. One is located on extremity of Fort St. Elmo. The present structure dates from 1908 according to http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/mlt.htm, but I suspect that there may have been a lighthouse there for quite long time before, maybe since the 16th century when the city was built. Oposite to it, at the extremity of the breakwater on the Three Cities side one can see the lighthouse of Ricasoli, built the same year. Both are active, and can be admired and photographed from almost any place on the East side of Valletta.

Delimara Point

In order to see the other two lighthouses we had to rent a car which was an experience by itself in a place where they drive on the correct side of the road. Delimara Point is located on the South East extremity of the island, and in order to reach it you need to cross the small fishing and touristic village of Marsaxlokk, and engage on a country road. The result is rewarding, as the lighthouse location offers a beautiful view of the gulf where the village is located and of the open sea. Built in 1855 it is inactive since 1990, but a restoration project is under way and may lead to the site being open for visiting.

Cirkewva

In order to reach the third point of interest we had to cross the whole island, as Cirkewva is located on the North-West extremity of Malta, close to the embarking for the ferry-boat that crosses the straight to the island of Gozo. The drive is about 40km, by the way. Unfortunately, not too much is left from the original shape of the lighthouse which is inactive and was transformed in a platform which does offer splendid views and photo opportunities to the sea and to Gozo, but does not seem to care much about authenticity or history. At least I took a few beautiful pictures of the sea.

the sea from Cirkewva

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‘Onegin’ with the Eifman Ballet in Tel Aviv

Posted on June 4, 2010 by admin

The Boris Eifman Ballet troupe from St. Petersburg is a constant guest of the dance series at the Golda center in Tel Aviv (same hall that hosts the New Israeli Opera). He brought here during the last decade all his important works which made of him the best known Russian choreographer of the day. He is kind of a cult hero in Israel, the ballet audiences here especially the ones of Russian origin adore him, although in the Western media he is quite controversial, some criticizing him sharply for the commercial touch of many of his performances.

(video source yk387)

I have seen today the latest work of Eifman, which is inspired by Pushkin’s ‘Onegin’. I liked the performance,  although I was neither shocked, nor charmed by everything that happened on the stage. There are two tings that I can complain about – one that the show lacked the inventiveness, the spark, the special ideas I found in other productions of Eifman. Second that too little of the Russian soul or Pushkin;s romanticism made it to the stage. Instead the story was adapted to happen in the period between 1991 and today, and talk about the Russian society of today. The music reflected quite well this discrepancy – the combination of Tchaikovsky  and rocker Alexander Sitkovetsky’s music never worked together, and the effect is of rupture rather then of continuity. The dancers were all very good, you would not expect anything less from a first tier troup of Russian dancers, with Nina Zamaitzev especially shining as Tatiana. Stage sets were mostly focused around a circular screen that was used as dynamic background (interesting and efficient) enhanced by masterful light games. Eifman was present at the performance, and received standing ovations from the audience which may have been 80% Russian-speaking.

(video source pointemagazine)

Here are a few professional reviews of Eifman’s Onegin, for these who wish to read more than my amateurish one:

http://me-artsblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/dance-review-eifman-ballets-onegin.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/05/review-eifman-ballets-onegin-at-ocpac.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/arts/dance/01eifm.html

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_09/jul09/et_rev_eifman_ballet_onegin_0509.htm

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2 movies on 25 and 40

Posted on June 3, 2010 by admin

Romantic comedies are not really my cup of tea, neither are the Manhattan Jewish types and stereotypes to which the masculine heroes of the two movies I have seen during the last weekend belong. Yet I found myself watching the films I am writing beyond  with mixed and different results. Oh, there is one more common plot trait to the two films besides their heroes vaguely belonging to the Woody Allen brand. They both talk about romantic relations between a 40 years old and a 25 years old. Here I must decline competence. When I was 25 no female looking like Catherine Zeta-Jones hired me as baby-sitter, and when I was 40 I was already happily married for more than a decade. So all the comments below are made from the chair of the objective viewer 🙂

source www.imdb.com

‘The Rebound’ can be found some place between the TV sitcom and the big screen romantic comedy. It is longer and somehow more developed than a sitcom, it is not enough developed and does not bring enough novelty for a feature film. Not for a good one in any case.

(video source czjmda3)

She is 40, looks 30 and dresses sometimes like a 22, and is as beautiful as Catherine Zeta-Jones. Her husband cheated on her, and she moves to Manhattan where – forget bad economic times – finds immediately a job as TV researcher with obvious chances to become sooner or later (but not later than the film duration) an anchor. Of course , professional life dictates her to hire a baby-sitter for her two cued kids, and the hire cannot be other than the 25 looking thirtish and Mel Gibsonish Aram Finklestein (Justin Bartha), who is some kind of sociology genius but loves kids (and their mother) and does not care about working as a baby-sitter refusing corporate jobs – forget bad economic times, did I say? From now on everything goes as expected, and any of the spectators in the cinema can write the script. All is predictable, and the very few sparks like casting 60s pop music idol Art Garfunkel in a supporting role of a Jewish father cannot save a vary routine almost-a-movie, which would not have worked at all without the charisma of the principal actors.

source www.imdb.com

Saying that ‘Greenberg’ is a romantic comedy as it is marketed is mislabeling and misleading. The movie offers to Ben Stiller the opportunity of playing the best role in his career, a redemption in my eyes to all the silly or boring roles I have seen him in previously. His Greenberg is a 40 years walking failure, half-Jewish not caring about his half-Jewishness but behaving like an institutionalized Woody Allen, whose every Californian dream of the young time went wrong. He is out of a psychiatric institution and gets back to the city of his young age, where all the friends in his generation seem to be similary failed dreams-wise, but in at least settled and deprived of Manhattan neurotics. He is meeting Florence (acted by the wonderful Greta Gewig), the 25 years old family assistant (is this another word for a better paid baby sitter?) of his brother, who is supposed to be the down-to-earth counterpart, but eventually proves to be or in danger to be as disoriented as him. The two meet, quarrel, have sex, do not resonate, as they belong to different generations, but they do share is the uneasiness with the world around them. Will the two find support in each other? It’s a question that stays open to the end, and the two experiment with each other and a surrounding world that does not accommodate them and they do not feel comfortable in. The film avoids the beaten path and the easy solutions, sometimes annoys, but, hey, the Greenberg character IS supposed to be annoying, and the principal thing is that we end by caring deeply of these two estranged strangers. No little thing in a genre of movies I am supposed to hate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSY4P1tdgf0

(video source WickedMovieTrailers)

Of the two movies ‘Greenberg’ succeeded much better in my eyes, because it did not rely on the external charisma and physical chemistry of the characters, but rather built a credible pair of characters whose relationship is interesting despite a certain lack of intrigue and repetition. As in real life, what is really important is people you care, even if some of them are not perfect. Beautiful people filmed on spectacular backgrounds are nice to see once or a few times, for the rest of the days real people are preferable.

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’24’ – The Final

Posted on June 2, 2010 by admin

The curtain has fallen upon the 8th season of ’24’ and the producers claim that this was the final one. I keep a certain dose of skepticism about this, as the main character – Jack Bauer – was still as alive and as in bad shape as in most other final episodes of the previous seven seasons. It may be for the big screen feature that was announced, and I am quite curious to know what format that film will take as an alternative to the real time 24 x one hour episodes in real-time, which were the trademark and the principal gimmick pacing the series for the whole duration of the eight seasons. This format imposed a certain gradation of the development of the action and of the characters in the time-frame of each episode and in the time-frame of the season, which became the duration of a full day in the life (and sometimes death) of the characters. Here relies much of the strength but also of the weakness of the formula, as after placing aside the bigger or even smaller credibility questions (like when do the heroes eat, sleep, go to the bathroom?) the fans of the series learned the pace and the rhythms and knew in many cases what to expect next with a precision of minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=399Hiwua0J4

(video source FoxBroadcasting)

’24’ was said to be the ultimate post-911 series, and it raised serious moral questions about the approach of members of the CTU in fighting terror attacks and terrorism threats in a period when the American society and the whole world was confronted with the same type of questions. The other dilemma the main heroes faced permanently is between individual action and the trust in the system – a system we quick learned is completely corrupt (in the eyes of the authors) to the point that any character from the rookie agent in the CTU to the President of the United States can be a suspect or eventually a traitor. There are few certain things in the world of ’24’ – the ‘do not kill (your people)’ taboo is broken in the second season, the trust in the institution of the presidency in the 4th or the 5th, even the complete dedication of Jack Bauer to his country is put under a big question mark in the last season, when he seems to engage in what looks like a personal vendetta at the expense of the world peace. What is left is maybe the protective love of Jack for his daughter and the friendship between him and Chloe – too little human feelings in such a savage world.

Yet, the human dimension is what stays for me from these series. After the eighth season I cannot remember how many times Jacj saved the world in 24 hours, I am pretty sure that atomic bombs were twice exploded in the US, that ballistic rockets were shot on the big American cities, and chemical and biological attacks happened several times and I cannot really distinguish between them. What I do and will remember is that I have seen in ’24’ the first Afro-American president at work a few years before Obama,  I watched Nina’s treason and Terry’s death in the first season, I resonated with the start and tragic end of the love story between Michelle and Tony Almeida, I shared the dilemmas, achievements, but also mistakes and treason of several fictional American presidents. Actually the turmoil that engulfs president Taylor in the last season was one of the reasons to watch this season attentively – a season which I started as a viewer with a big dose of skepticism and some boredom, but which became one of the best, and not only because by mid-season we new it will be the last.

Or will it not?

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‘Lost’ – The Final

Posted on June 1, 2010 by admin

My two preferred series on the US TV during the last few years ended last week. First the curtain fell on ‘Lost’. It started six years ago as what looked like a dramatized version of ‘Survivor’ with a group of people stranded on an island following a jetliner crash. Soon the island proved to be much more than a small piece of land lost in the Pacific Ocean, it had magical power and hid numerous mysteries, as well as other groups of people fighting for its control. The gathering of people also started to look much beyond coincidental, and the permanent alternation of flashbacks revealed their past and their personalities. As we came to know them better and better, to discover their strength and weaknesses, their qualities and flaws, their passions and secrets, the relation between the characters became the central strength of the series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-76O2_F9xiM

(video source minorityFILMS)

The following seasons made the series look more and more complex. At one point, during the third or fourth season the complexity of the situations and labyrinths of the action seemed to grow beyond control. The jumps in time started to be not only backwards, but also forwards and sidewards. Time travel and magic seemed to replace to a large extent the scientific and rational approach of the first two seasons. By the fifth season I had personally lost any hope to understand the whole action by means of logic. Luckily, the core of characters continued to be with us, and I and probably many other fans got to the point of relation you establish with family members or good friends – when you care about them you are ready to oversee their flaws. So the last and final season which was supposed to explain everything did not disappoint me even if I less resonate with mystical and religious explanations as the ones that were brought in by the producers and script authors, and even if some episodes seemed to carry (maybe intentionally) glimpses of Xena, The Fountain or Indiana Jones. What I cared about was the fate of Jack, John, James, Kate, Sayid, Hugo, Jin, Sun, and yes, even of Ben.

‘Lost’ was the best series of the 2000s – maybe at pair with HBO’s ‘The Wire’. It was not in my opinion the best TV series of all times as some consider it. I liked more the 90s hit ‘X-Files’. Yet it may have been the series whose characters I cared mostly about.

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