Geek Tech 101: The Swan Station

I recently finished rewatching LOST and as usual enjoyed it from start to finish (even “Stranger in a Strange Land” because I had laughing gas at the dentist when I watched it). Despite what haters will say about the series, I have fond memories of the series, even with its controversial ending. The mysteries and easter eggs along the way were ahead of their time, since the series premiered before this age of streaming television. The first season in particular had a few potent mysteries: the Monster, the Others, and the Hatch.

The Hatch (known to the DHARMA Initiative as “The Swan”) was found by Locke and Boone after about a month on the Island. Decades before that, it was the site of a catastrophic electromagnetic incident. “The Incident” was affected by the appearance of the Flight 815 survivors (after having traveled through time). Honestly, it probably would have been worse if it hadn’t been for Jack, Juliet, and their bomb. Regardless, the event had a significant impact on the function of the Swan for decades.

Instead of being solely a research facility for electromagnetic research, the Swan ended up being the means of containing the energy released during the Incident. Every 108 minutes, someone would input the code (Hurley’s numbers) to allow the energy to be released little by little. Why did the code have to be that string of numbers? Why couldn’t the system be on automatic? Why did it need to be put in manually? These are among the mysteries that LOST fans will never have a satisfactory answer to.

Theoretically, the Swan was to be staffed with two individuals for a period of time and switched out with fresh team members. Each team would take shifts so that one could always sleep at one point or another. However, by the time Desmond marooned on the Island, the Swan’s only resident was Kelvin. This former US military man ultimately tried to ditch Desmond, under the assumption that the button didn’t need to be pushed. However, the first time Desmond failed to put the code in quickly, the electromagnetism brought down Oceanic Flight 815.

About a month after crashing on the Island, Locke and Boone were tracking Ethan to rescue Claire when they chanced upon the outer door of the Swan, which they dubbed the Hatch. They tried everything they could to open the door (not knowing there was a side entrance not too far away). Following Locke’s dreams, Boone ended up dying in an attempt to learn the secret of the Hatch. It wasn’t too long after that that the rest of the A-Team learned about the Hatch and opened it in an attempt to hide from the Others.

After opening the Hatch, discovering Desmond, and watching him escape, the Flight 815 survivors took custody of the Hatch and the button. For a while it was a nice reprieve at times from roughing in on the beach. Naturally, someone had to throw a wrench into the mix though… Ben Linus. Posing as Henry Gale, Ben got into Locke’s head that the button was pointless and his venture to the Pearl Station (we’ll cover that another time) didn’t exactly bolster Locke’s faith in the whole thing.

In the end, his broken faith led to Locke and Desmond letting the timer run out, seeing the electromagnetic catastrophe unfold, and turning the failsafe key. With that, the last we saw of the Swan was an empty crater where the station imploded. 

With much of the first two seasons centering around the Hatch, it was a central point of the show's heyday. Long before time travel or alternate timelines, the mystery of the Swan Station had center stage. The Hatch and the button played into some powerful themes about how faith and doubt intertwine and what it takes to keep faithful. There’s a gospel analogy in there somewhere. Despite being one of the first mysteries “solved” in the series, it also left just as many unanswered questions. But the fans would never be satisfied. It would take an info-dump to answer all the questions and they’d just complain about the dump. Already I can’t wait to rewatch LOST again (gotta finish a couple of other shows before I can entertain that idea).

4. 8. 15. 16. 23. 42. Execute.

 

Friday Creature Feature - Smoke Monster

My last LOST blog post for the series 20th anniversary. What could be more appropriate than to spotlight the first mystery of them all? That's right! I'm talking about the Smoke Monster. From the first night the Flight 815 survivors were on the Island, they knew something was strange about the place, as they heard the monster and knocked down trees in the distance. 

The Man in Black

I debated whether this blog post fit more in the category of "Creature Feature" or "Character Spotlight", because Smokey was once a man. If you watched through the final season of LOST, this is old news. Born on the Island at the heels of his brother Jacob, he was raised by an unnamed woman who killed their birth mother. 

Despite being raised as a native, he was antsy to leave the Island from a young age. And that was before he saw a vision of his birth mother. Even so, he kept a civil relationship with his brother. Long story short, desperate to leave the Island, he ended up killing his adoptive mother. But in retribution and anger, Jacob threw his brother in the "Heart of the Island". The Island's electromagnetism somehow separated him from his body and turned him into the smoke monster.

Powers and Abilities

Connected to the Heart of the Island, the Man in Black was invulnerable to physical attacks and conventional weapons, both in human form and smoke form--though dynamite scared him off. Though intangible he was super strong, capable of disposing of human being and trees with ease. To whatever extent he also displayed some telekinetic and/or telepathic abilities, influencing dreams and "scanning" human beings. At least some of these abilities were eliminated when Desmond unplugged the Heart of the Island.

Countless times through history the Man in Black took the form of deceased humans (and maybe a horse or spider on occasion). He was confirmed to at least take the forms of Isabella, Christian Shepard, Yemi, Alex Rousseau, and John Locke. Sometimes it seemed like he needed the body physically on the Island, but cases like Isabella prove otherwise. By the time he arranged Jacob's murder, the Man in Black was limited to transforming between Locke and Smokey.

Though powerful, he was limited in his ability to travel except over land. He may have been able to travel short distances over water (unclear) but he definitely couldn't ascend high enough (even in smoke form) to clear DHARMA's sonic fence and had issues with ash circles or whatever reason. And though murderous he was unable to harm Jacob or his candidates directly, working through manipulation, due to some power in place guardians of the Island.

History with Island Visitors

As far back as the Black Rock, Jacob and the Man in Black played this game of chess to see who'd win: the Man in Black claiming that mankind only comes to corrupt and Jacob banking on humanity continually progressing and growing. Caught in the chaos of the chess match included the likes of the US Army testing explosives, Rousseau's team, the DHARMA Initiative, and of course the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 (and Ajira Flight 316).

Jacob: You'll have to ask 'em when they get here.

MIB: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?

Jacob: You are wrong.

MIB: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.

Jacob: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress. 

Though this exchange from "The Incident" presented their feud as a test of the nature of mankind, the final season of LOST set the focus of their ongoing battle as a search for a loophole to kill Jacob and leave the Island. Each time a new group arrived on the Island, the Man in Black would use his powers of deception (posing as Isabella, Alex, Locke, etc.) to further his plans. In the end, both sides of kind won, I guess: the Man in Black got Ben to kill Jacob, but Jack (as Jacob's replacement) stopped Smokey from leaving the Island. 

It's a curious question to pose, with the two brothers as the centerpiece: Mankind good or evil? The question has been asked and philosophized over for millennia. And in true LOST fashion, that question between human nature and free will remained subjective in the finale. 

I suppose I could give some gospel related answer about the "natural man" or about being children of God, but I think the message of progress is more relevant to my life. Progress over perfection. Anything that happens before it "ends" is only progress.

Unanswered Questions

Besides the unanswered question of philosophers through the ages, it only makes sense to end this blog post and the LOST anniversary with some unanswered questions about Smokey:

1. How/why did the Heart of the Island transform him into Smoke and not Desmond or Jack?
2. How/why did Smokey's birth mother appear to him?
3. What would've happened in the Man in Black left the Island?
4. How did the Man in Black end up in the Cabin?

Sawyer's Best Nicknames

One of my favorite characters on LOST would have to be Sawyer. Name a character with more depth and development over the course of six seasons (just wish we could have seen flashbacks to witness how his relationship with Juliet developed). In addition to his development over the series, he’s known for his wit and nicknames. So since the 20th anniversary of LOST is wrapping up this year, I wanted to highlight some of his best nicknames. Not the offensive ones though (for the most part) but just the witty and/or endearing ones. Skipping right past his endearing nicknames for Kate (“Freckles”) and Juliet (“Blondie”).

Charlie - Hobbit (“Enter 77”)

This one is an obvious crack at Charlie’s height, but for any fan of Lord of the Rings you’ll recognize Dominic Monaghan as one of the four hobbits. So it’s a cute reference to his previous work too.

Daniel - HG Wells ("The Variable")

Full disclosure: I’ve never read anything by Wells. That being said, he’s well-known enough as a science fiction/time travel writer that the jump from Daniel to Wells isn’t a big one. Especially in an episode about time travel.

Hurley - Hulk (“Dave”)

Most of Sawyer’s nicknames for Hurley were insults centered around his weight. with Hurley beating up Sawyer it kind of feels sweet at the same time. Like Sawyer admitting that Hurley bested him.

Jack - Dr. Do-Right ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")

With how high and mighty Jack seemed at times, adding “doctor” to the melodramatic title of (Dudley) Do-Right seems very fitting. Especially coming from Sawyer.

Ben - Captain Bunny Killer ("Stranger in a Strange Land")

After the events of “Every Man for Himself” how else would Sawyer refer to Ben?

Kate - Pippi Longstocking ("Three Minutes")

With Kate’s compulsion to join the A-Team missions, it doesn’t seem a far jump to compare her to the ever-adventurous Pippi when they gang decided to go after the Others.

Locke - Daniel Boone ("The Hunting Party")

Especially in the first half of the series, Locke always seemed to be exploring or tracking somewhere. This is one of the nicknames that doesn’t need much explanation, as they were trying to pick up Michael’s trail.

Roger - Skeletor ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")

When you make friends with a DHARMA janitor skeleton, what else would you call him?

5 Unsolved Mysteries from LOST You Might've Forgotten

This week is the 20th anniversary of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 and the series premiere of LOST. Since the show was known for mysteries and theories, I wanted to delve into some mysteries that were never fully addressed. I thought about picking mysteries regarding the Island and its history (what was with the Hurley bird anyway?), but since the show was primarily about people, their histories, and their relationships, I wanted to focus on mysteries regarding some beloved characters. And for the fun of it I’ve included theories/head-canons to explain each mystery.

Walt’s Powers

Right from the first Michael/Walt-centric episode (“Special”) and maybe even before, we knew there was something mysterious about Walt. He seemed to have some premonitions and the mini-sode “Room 23” reiterates the effect he had on wildlife, but they never fully delved into it. Even after the series finale, they did the epilogue mini-sode “The New Man in Charge” in which Walt was retrieved by Hurley and Ben, but there was no clear indication what his purpose was, except to help his father.

My head-canon/theory: After the end of the series I wrote a "season seven" story that involved Walt returning to the Island to save his father (and the other whispers) and allow them to move on to the afterlife. I also explained how he appeared to Locke looking older.

Libby’s History

I started watching the series during the third season, after Libby was shot. So by the time I joined the bandwagon, there was already a demand for Libby’s backstory to be told. Psychologist? Psych patient? Boat benefactor? She had a lot going on and we were far from having the dots connected for us. We never even learned why she was on the plane. By the fourth season, the writers promised more of her backstory and that she was going to return. However, with the writer strike that interrupted that season, storylines and episodes were cut short and rearranged. So we saw Libby in Michael’s hallucinations… and then nothing until the flash-sideways of the final season. I still need answers!

My head-canon/theory: She’s the half-sister of Penny Widmore (sharing a mother and raised separately of course). After the death of her husband David, she gives her husband’s boat to Desmond (per Penny’s request) to help him in Widmore’s race. Later, the loss of her husband led her to a breakdown that was bad enough to put her in the hospital. And by the time Flight 815’s departure approached, Penny knew that Desmond was on the Island and sent Libby on the plane to find him. A bit convoluted of a story, but they didn’t give us much to go on. 

Desmond’s Abilities

Speaking of Desmond, there were a number of occasions when he seemed to miraculously survive fatal electromagnetic events. How did he survive those? It was said he had a resistance to electromagnetic energy, but where did he get that resistance? Also, the fail-safe left him with his premonitions/flashes–Why? How? And for that matter, how did Eloise know as much as she did in “Flashes Before Your Eyes”? Seriously, I just want to know!

My head-canon/theory: Though he wasn’t seen amidst Jacob’s scribblings of candidates at the lighthouse or at the cave, I figure Jacob touched Desmond at some point before coming to the Island (like the flashbacks in “The Incident”). So much like Richard Alpert, he was kept alive to fulfill his purpose when he shouldn’t have survived. 

Hurley’s Powers

At some point after leaving the Island, Hurley started seeing dead friends in his path. Unlike Miles, who could only hear their last thoughts (though there are some continuity errors/discrepancies regarding his powers), Hurley was able to physically interact with Charlie, Eko, Ana Lucia, Michael, etc. Why did these friends start appearing to him? Unless his imaginary friend Dave was really a deceased friend (seems unlikely) the ability didn’t manifest until after leaving the Island. It couldn’t have been the touch from Jacob, right before Ajira Flight 316, since he’d been visited by deceased friends for a couple years before.

My theory/head-canon: The best I’ve got is that the experience with the sky lighting up in “Live Together, Die Alone”, moving across the Island’s external boundary, or maybe his proximity to the Orchid Station triggered something when he left the Island. All those seem unlikely since others had more intimate experiences with those than Hurley, but that’s the best I have.

Claire’s Missing Time

After so many close calls with her baby, why would Claire (or any decent mother) leave her child in the middle of the jungle to follow an apparition of her absentee father? And when Locke found her in the cabin, she seemed so relaxed. What was going on? Also, why didn’t Claire jump through time with the other survivors? What did the Others do to her in her time of solitude? According to Dogen, Claire was infected like Sayid, but that only brings up more questions. When did she get infected? What did that exactly entail? And I can’t leave off this mystery without asking this unrelated Clair question: Why did Desmond say he had a vision of Claire getting on a helicopter if she was never on the helicopter?

My theory/head-canon: My belief is that when Claire’s house exploded, she died (like Sayid did after returning to the present day). After that, “the sickness” brought her back to life, bonding her to the Man in Black (again, like Sayid). So when the Man in Black (taking the form of her father) took her away from her baby, it was like her free will was taken away–not completely, as demonstrated by both Claire and Sayid, but enough. And regarding the helicopter vision, that’s part of a more intricate “season seven” I wrote involving Claire and the rest returning to the Island.

I’m sure I could think of several more mysteries regarding our LOST cast (How did Faraday lose his memories? How did Boone, Rose, and Bernard “wake up” in the flash-sideways?) but these seem sufficient for now. While I hope LOST never gets rebooted or restarted, I think fans would always welcome more snippets from the Island and the lives of the characters we love. What’s the harm in a few more mini-sodes? Show us more snippets of backstories, Island time, and after the finale. Nothing crazy or complex. Just more. But just to quote Hector in the epilogue, “We deserve answers!”

At least about Libby.

Please?

5 Best Couples of LOST

This year is the 20th anniversary of LOST and I don’t care what people say, I loved it back then and I love it now. Currently rewatching the series in honor of its anniversary (not that I need an excuse) so I’m sure you’ll get plenty of LOST content from me this year, especially as September and the show’s anniversary gets closer. But for today, since it’s Valentine’s Day, I’ll focus on my favorite couples from the show. Honorable mentions include Jack/Kate, Sayid/Nadia, and Ben/Annie, but they’re not in my top five for this list.

Desmond and Penny

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think there would be something tragic if someone didn’t include Desmond and Penny on their list of best LOST couples. Desmond was supposed to be dead, but Penny kept trying and hoping that she’d find him. Sure there were some time travel shenanigans that could have tipped her off to his survival, but she still had faith in their relationship. Plus, the best relationship quote (romantic or otherwise) from the show came from her: “All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us.”

Sawyer and Juliet

I wrote about Sawyer and Juliet on my TV couples Valentine's Day post a few years back, but I couldn’t have seen this couple coming. One moment they’re buddies and the next (three years for them) they’re a couple. And yet, even though their screen time together was only a handful of episodes, their chemistry and their connection was beautiful. And Juliet’s death was heartbreaking in the best ways (as far as storytelling goes). To see them reconnect in the flash-sideways was the most perfect reunion in the show. 

Hurley and Libby

Speaking of heartbreaking deaths… Hurley and Libby were perfect. They loved and supported each other in their insecurities, even if we didn’t learn what Libby’s past entailed. For the record, I’m still upset that they never gave us Libby’s backstory as promised in season four (my head-canon is that she’s Penny’s half-sister and was tasked with finding Desmond). All the same, to see Hurley grieve over his girlfriend of only a couple weeks and later be reunited with her in the afterlife. Beautiful!

Charlie and Claire

Maybe it’s because of the respect I have for my dad, adopting his step-daughter as his own, but seeing Charlie care for Aaron is possibly the most romantic thing I see him do while watching LOST. Ask my wife and she’ll confirm that fatherhood is one of the most attractive things a man can do. I know Aaron wasn’t his son, but Charlie cared enough for Claire and loved her enough that he loved her son too. Charlie’s sacrifice for Claire and Aaron broke all of our hearts. I think it was perfect to see Claire and Charlie regain their memories because of Aaron’s birth, bringing their family back together.

Rose and Bernard

How could a list of LOST couples be complete without Rose and Bernard? They found each other later in life, after years of being single (or possibly divorced/widowed in Rose’s case, based on a deleted scene) they found each other. And they’re about the cutest older couple there could be, even without knowing the depth of their feelings. Everyone should have someone who chooses them, regardless of what the future holds, like Bernard choosing Rose despite her diagnosis. And everyone should have someone who believes in them against all odds, like Rose believed in Bernard’s ability to survive.

Naturally I could have included Jack/Kate or Sayid/Shannon on this list as well. And I certainly have a head-canon as to what happened with Ben/Annie. But for now, we’ll leave that on the back burner for another time. For now, see you in another life, brother (or sister). 

Why I Loved LOST

Back in high school, I remember one Christmas where my brother came home from college raving about this new TV show. My brother has suggested many shows to me over the years. And, if I'm being honest, many of them have gone in one ear and out the other. But this show he made the point of buying himself the DVDS and watching the first episodes with me. I don’t remember which cliffhanger finally hooked me, but by the time my brother left after Christmas, we’d already binged almost the whole first season of LOST.

LOST is possibly one of the most controversial fandoms I’ve been a part of (though the toxicity of Star Wars, Marvel, and Harry Potter come to mind as well lately). The final season in particular seemed to rub people the wrong way (I still have a hard time comprehending how so many people misunderstood the series finale). Regardless as to what other people think of the series, I still love it (and probably want to rewatch it again soon) and here’s why:

Continuity: With only a few exceptions, LOST did a great job of providing overall continuity with their overlapping character stories. With flashbacks, flashforwards, and present-day Island time, there are a lot of details to keep track of. And the writers did (as did the fans). It was also rare that they even recast a character (they’d more likely exclude the character than recast them). 

Theories: LOST came out at the perfect time, in the days of online message boards and fledgling social media. Online communities were buzzing after each episode trying to discern the mystery behind Adam and Eve, the Orchid Station, or the infamous Jacob. I ended up with a few online “friends” on those message boards who I was always excited to see theories from. So with the mysteries and the theories came a sense of community (which I desperately needed in high school).

Characters: With such a large cast, it would be difficult to flesh out and develop them all. But even with a beginning cast of fourteen people, it was interesting to see each of them get their own spotlight throughout the show. Sure some of them got bigger spotlights, like Jack and Kate, but besides a couple exceptions, like Libby and the Freighter gang, we got a solid backstory and character development for every major player, even recurring characters like Rose and Bernard. In the end, the show wasn’t about the Monster or DHARMA; it was about the people. 

LOST is one of those shows that has so many layers and each time I watch it I feel like I understand it better. There are some shows I can watch once and be done, but there are others that have possibly infinite rewatch potential. LOST will definitely be rewatched again.

Before They Were Cursed

My wife and I just finished rewatching Once Upon a Time again. Other than the last season or two we’ve seen it enough that we can have it on for 10 minutes at a time or in the background (which was nice when we were packing and moving last month). Created by the same people as LOST, I always take note of the actors and actresses that they brought back for this show. But even besides Anton the Giant and King George, there are plenty of other actors that my wife and I recognize all the time from their other appearances before they ended up in Storybrooke. So in honor of them, let’s take a look at their work.

Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) - Star Trek

She appeared as one of Ted’s many girlfriends in How I Met Your Mother. Though she appeared for thirteen episodes in that series, I want to spotlight her appearance with StarFleet. In the opening scenes of JJ Abrams’s Star Trek movies, she gave birth to James T. Kirk as her husband (the mighty Thor) saved them and hundreds of others, giving his own life. Gosh. I need to watch that movie again.

Lana Parilla (Regina Mills) - LOST

As I said before, lots of actors in Once Upon a Time were previously stars on LOST. However, Lana wasn’t a star on LOST. In fact, she only appeared in one season finale as one of the Others. But even with only one appearance in the supposedly flooded DHARMA station, she was an intriguing addition to LOST, later to return as the Evil Queen.

Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) - Ramona and Beezus

Before she was a princess or school teacher, Ginnifer Goodwin played the cool aunt in this Walden Media movie. When it showed up on Disney Plus, my wife wanted to watch it. It’s a nice feel-good movie about a young girl and her explosive imagination. So if you want to see Mary Margaret as a fun aunt, check this movie out on Disney Plus.

Josh Dallas (Prince Charming) - Thor

Before he was a shepherd or a prince, he was Asgardian by the name Fandral. As one of the Warriors Three, he traveled with Thor to fight the Frost Giants before the God of Thunder was banished to Earth. Along with the others, Fandral fought in New Mexico. Fortunately/unfortunately, due to his work on Once Upon a Time, Josh Dallas did not return in Dark World or Ragnarok, so the role was re-casted with Zachary Levi.

Rebecca Mader (Zelena) and Emilie de Ravin (Belle) - LOST

And of course since I brought LOST in, I couldn’t do this post without mentioning the Wicked Witch and Belle being Charlotte and Claire. They didn’t share a ton of scenes in LOST, but I’m sure they spent plenty of time together off camera. In contrast, they spent plenty of time on camera together in Storybrooke, often making themselves a tag-team th at I didn’t know I needed.

Dania Ramirez (Cinderella) - Heroes

She didn’t appear in Once Upon a Time until the final season, which I affectionately call the “spin-off season”. As we’ve been finishing that season of Once Upon a Time, I’ve also been watching Heroes on my own, where she appears as Maya Herrera in Season 2. Unfortunately, her storyline in Heroes was cut short due to the writers’ strike that year. She was supposed to play into the finale, instead of being written off in the next season. But I guess that’s just how it goes.

There are plenty of other actors and actresses I could reference from Storybrooke. For example, did you know Tinkerbell was a Power Ranger, the Snow Queen was Mrs. Claus, or that the White Rabbit was Lord Farquaad? But this list is good for now. So chime in with your favorite role that a Once actor or actress has played outside the Enchanted Forest. 

Before They Were Heroes (and Heroes Reborn)

I'm finishing up with my re-watch of LOST and it's making me nostalgic for shows I watched back in the day. One of those shows is Heroes and I swear I still see those actors showing up every once in a while (like Mohinder showing up in The Flash this year). But for now I want to flashback to before Heroes (and its sequel, Heroes Reborn) aired and to what some of our heroes were up to before they were heroes.

Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) - Gilmore Girls
Long before he was Jack on This Is Us, he was Peter on Heroes. Before he was Peter, he was Jess on Gilmore Girls. When my wife had me watch Gilmore Girls, I absolutely hated Jess. That being said, his character development is one of the most intriguing. He's actually one of my favorite characters from A Year in the Life because his development seemed so natural and flawless. Just goes to show how great of an actor Milo is.

Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet) - Cow Belles
Before he was the senator on The Office or the mysterious company man on Heroes, he was on a Disney Channel movie: Cowbelles. My wife stumbled across this appearance when we were binging Disney Channel movies. He's definitely got the loving dad character down.

Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet) - Remember the Titans
"Save the cheerleader, save the world." It's the catch phrase that got us hooked on Heroes, right? But before Claire was a cheerleader, she was an avid football fan. You may or may not have recognized her though, because of how young she was, but she was Coach Yoast's little girl Sheryl. We love this movie in our house, so it makes it even better than she was in it.

Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura) - Scrubs
Besides being a master of time and space, Hiro (in another life) was a lab tech at Sacred Heart Hospital. On Scrubs Masi played the snarky (often manipulated) lab tech that plays a recurring role throughout the adventures of JD and his colleagues. It was kind of a small role, but it was very different from Hiro, which made me happy for some reason.

Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman) - LOST
So as I was starting to watch Heroes, I'd barely started watching LOST. So two shows in a row I had Greg Grunberg showing up as a pretty important character. He was the pilot Captain Norris on LOST (plane wouldn't have crashed without him) and the he was the mind-reading cop Matt Parkman when he started appearing on Heroes. Loved his character!

Cristine Rose (Angela Petrelli) - Friends
She does such a great job playing angry, pretentious rich ladies. She was on How I Met Your Mother, Gilmore Girls, Heroes, and Friends. Every time she was stuck up and I loved it. I chose to single out her appearances on Friends because she played Paul Rudd's mom and I absolutely love Mike Hannigan on Friends. Also she was great being drugged up at Mike and Phoebe's the wedding.

Zachary Levi (Luke Collins) - Tangled
He didn't appear in the original series, but in the reboot/miniseries he appeared as a new hero. Though at first he was a bounty hunter for powered individuals. That's what a change from where we've seen him before. Previously he'd played one of Thor's comrades in The Dark World and Ragnarok. However, my favorite he's been in: Tangled. Who doesn't love Flynn Rider? Disney prince and superhero (twice over if you count Shazam). If you ever get a chance to see his panel at a Comic Con, do it. You won't regret it.

Robbie Kay (Tommy Clark) - Once Upon a Time
Another newcomer for Heroes Reborn. Although he played one of the twin heroes here, he was one of my favorite villains on Once Upon a Time. He played Peter Pan and wow he's menacing. I had my critiques of the Neverland arc of Once Upon a Time, but Robbie's portrayal of Peter Pan was the best part of that storyline.

Who were your favorite actors on Heroes? Writing this post has definitely made me want to pull out my Heroes DVDs and start binging it again. If you like Heroes, don't forget to check out the post Ryan did about the series.