HMV to sell Exclusive UK DVD Season 5 Box Set Posted by DarkUFO at 8/31/2009 08:51:00 PM View Comments Labels: DVD, Season 5

Thanks to Toby for the heads up on this.

HMV Exclusive Bonus Disc:

* Lost on Location- THIS PLACE IS DEATH - The Smoke Monster makes its return as we go behind the scenes look at this episode.
* Lost on Location – 316 – Explore the construction of the Lamp Post Station and Ajira Flight 316, two elaborate and important sets for this episode.
* Ben vs. Desmond Fight - Join Michael Emerson (Ben) and Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), and their stunt doubles as they rehearse and film their big fight scene.
* Locke's Leg – Take a look at how make-up artists created and executed Locke’s broken leg.
* Rose and Bernard Retirement - Bernard and Rose are back. Find out where they have been for the past three years since the island moved.
* Ben in Smokey's Lair – Enter Smokey’s lair with Michael Emerson and the LOST crew as Ben prepares to confront the Smoke Monster.
* DELETED SCENES. Run time approximately 20 minute.

Product Link

Win a copy of The Others - Season 5 CD Posted by DarkUFO at 8/24/2009 08:00:00 AM View Comments Labels: Competitions

Update: 24th August Congratulations to our 3 Winners.

Hanna (HannaK)
Arjan (TimeforTravel)
Nicole (Nicole)

You should be receiving an email shortly with details of how to claim your prize.

Thanks to our good friends The Others, they have given us 3 CD's of their Album "Season 5 " to giveaway to 3 lucky DarkUFO readers.

The Others are proud to present their newest album, Season 5. It includes sixteen tracks of Lost inspired music to help you relive the past season and get over those flashes with tracks like, "Time is a Street", "My Mother Is An Other", and "Jacob Loves You". Ranging from rock to pop to electronic this album is the band's best yet and is sure to please the most fickle of LOST fans.

The Rules are very simple.
1) 3 Random Winners will be selected from all the entries received.
2) You need to have a Profile with at least 5 posts in our Forums (Don't worry you can create a profile for free)
3) Only 1 entry per profile. Duplicate entries will be deleted.
4) Please ensure that the put your correct forum username and email address in.
5) The Winner will be drawn on Monday 24th August.
6) The competition is open to ALL DarkUFO readers no matter where you live in the world.
(Note: We'll be running more of these giveaways so make sure you get yourself a forum account so that you can enter future giveaways)

Be sure to check The Others out via the various links below. Good luck !

Web Site | Myspace Page | MP3s | Videos | Press Photos

Lost Season 5 DVD - UK gets release date Posted by DarkUFO at 8/23/2009 07:02:00 PM View Comments Labels: DVD, Season 5, UK

Update: 24th August Thanks to Baker for the update.

Lost - Series 3 - Complete [Blu-ray] [2006]
# Format: Box set, PAL
# Number of discs: 7
# Classification: 15
# Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
# DVD Release Date: 26 Oct 2009
# Run Time: 951 minutes
# ASIN: B002LL16JK
# Price: £44.79
Amazon Page

Lost - Series 1-5 [DVD] [2004]
# Format: Box set, PAL
# Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
# Number of discs: 30
# Classification: 15
# Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
# DVD Release Date: 26 Oct 2009
# Run Time: 4272 minutes
# ASIN: B002LL16KO
# Price: £128.39
Amazon Page


Thanks to Liz for the heads up that the UK has a release date of October 26th 2009. You can pre-order this item for the locked in price of £32.99

Amazon Page

# Format: Box set, PAL
# Language English
# Region: Region 2
# Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
# Number of discs: 5
# Classification: 15
# Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
# DVD Release Date: 26 Oct 2009
# Run Time: 704 minutes
# ASIN: B001OTYOSU
# Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4

DarkUFO - Google Gadgets Posted by DarkUFO at 8/13/2009 01:32:00 PM View Comments Labels: Announcements, Web Site News

We've just made available some DarkUFO Google Gadgets for those of you that use iGoogle, Google homepage desktop. We currently have a number of feeds available and you can select which ones you want to add by clicking the link below.



If you would like other specific iGoogle Gadgets created, please let us know in the comments.

The DarkUFO Episode Cup - The Final Posted by DarkUFO at 8/12/2009 08:45:00 AM View Comments Labels: Episode Cup

Update: 13th August And the winner is .... Through the Looking Glass!

This years winner of the DarkUFO Episode is Through the Looking Glass!

Through the Looking Glass 1638 54%
The Incident 1388 46%

The Top 3 in our Brackets were

1) omi "omi" papa
2) Matthew Collier
3) Adam S

Congrats to our winner - omi "omi" papa. You can see the Final brackets here. I came a disappointing 473rd after being as high as 19th with a few rounds to go :)

We hope you all enjoyed this years Episode Cup and hope you will take part in the Character Cup that will start shortly.

Update: 18:15 Here is Locke4God's final Stats update for the episode cup. Look out for his analysis for the Character Cup later this year.

STATISTICAL UPDATE:


WHAT A FINAL!!!! And it may not be over, although it is looking very much as though it is, and our new champion episode will officially be "Through The Looking Glass".

But the board currently has it as a 53-47 contest. Among those 14 brackets that still remain within 5 of the overall leaders, just 50% of them picked correctly today, and so this final match is going to really mix up the standings. Prepare to fall far if you missed it, and prepare to jump way up if you got it right.

And before we move on, let us congratulate those who come the end of the day will have won this years "DarkUFO Episode Cup"

CHAMPION: Omi Papa (Congratulations on a job well done)
2nd & 3rd: Adam S, and Matthew Collier (Well done to both of you)

Adam and Matt will have to be sorted out via Tie-Breaker and I believe based on what I know of the rules that Matthew will be our 2nd place winner as he selected the closest final percentage, but that is unofficial on my part and I will leave it to Dark himself to announce the OFFICIAL final results


BREAKDOWN:

Of those with,,,

189 Points: Omi Papa was the only one left at the top, and was correct in today's pick
188 Points: Just 2 remained tied for 2nd after yesterday and both picked the right winner
187 Points: Just 1 bracket was left in 4th, and could have won it all, but missed today
186 Points: 2 brackets were left in 5 & 6th, and could have placed 2nd & 3rd, but both missed today
185 Points: All 2 Brackets left with 185 Points were correct today and will share 4th & 5th in the final results. So close guys. Good job, and better luck next year.
184 Points: And 5 more brackets had made it to the final within 5 of the lead. Just 2 of them were correct today, and will place 6th & 7th respectively.


SEASON VS SEASON:

I thought it was Interesting to go back and look at the Season vs. Season results, and this year's overall Season Champion, based on win percentage is SEASON 3. Here is a more detailed look.

Season 3: 19-15 (16 Episodes Entered)
Season 4: 10-9 (9 Episodes Entered)
Season 5: 15-15 (15 Episodes Entered)
Season 2: 10-10 (10 Episodes Entered)
Season 1: 9-14 (14 Episodes Entered)

As you can see, season 5 only tied for 3rd, which makes it tough to argue that it fared better simply because it was a later season. Of course it did have "The Incident" make the final, but that only means it's remaining episodes had a decidedly losing record. But regardless I thought this was quite fun to look over.

Then I actually took a look at each season vs. each other season. The winning season will be listed on the left of the losing season, with the record listed to the right.

2 vs 1, 2-0 5 vs 4, 3-2
4 vs 2, 1-0 2 vs 5, 3-2
3 vs 5, 4-1 4 vs 3, 3-2
5 vs 1, 5-2 3 vs 1, 3-3
3 vs 2, 5-3 4 vs 1, 2-2

Take from that what you will, but I find the beatdown Season 3 handed Season 5 to be interesting. And Season 5 beat up pretty good on Season 1. In fact Season 1 didn't win a single matchup, which makes since as it had the worst record of any season but it did tie head to head with the best record of Season 3. We'll keep these stats handy and see how they compare next year.

One other thing I noted was how many times each season had to face itself. Season 3 won that with 5 head to head meetings with other episodes in the same season, while Season 5, had 4 such meetings. The rest of them only had 2 apiece. Perhaps that's not suprising as Seasons 3 & 5 also had the most episodes entered in the contest to begin with.


SUMMARY:

Well that's it. It was a great tournament with great results and a lot of action, and on behalf of DarkUFO, we hope you all had a lot of fun. I'd like to thank him for allowing me to post this update, and I hope you all enjoyed that as well. Look for it again in the upcoming "Character Cup" and please don't forget to sign up for it, or to complete your brackets.

Once again, thank you all for participating in this years "Episode Cup", better luck to you next year regardless, and we'll see you back for the final season of you favorite show.

Well here it is folks, the DarkUFO Episode Cup final. Yesterday we saw last years winner, The Constant, knocked out by the Season 5 Final, The Incident.

The Incident 1833 59%
The Constant 1298 41%

The result of this upset is that the brackets table has been shaken up and we now have a new leader, omi "omi" papa. How is your bracket fairing? View Latest Brackets.

As always let us know in the comments who you voted for and why. You can also follow along in the Official Episode Cup Thread.

I'd like to thank Dharmageddon for the images that he created during this Cup and to Locke4God for his excellent statistical updates on the brackets and to everyone who has voted and commented. And don't forget to get ready for the Character Cup.

So who will win this years Episode Cup?

Through the Looking Glass
Jack and the survivors wait for Charlie to turn off The Others' signal-jamming device, not knowing that he has been captured at the Looking Glass station. In addition, Sayid, Jin and Bernard are captured after The Others invade the camp.

The Incident
Jack and Sayid's plan faces resistance from Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate. Ben and The Others/Hostiles reach Jacob at the Foot of the Statue, and are soon met by the 316 survivors, who reveal the contents of their mysterious package.

The DarkUFO Episode Cup - Semi-Final 2 Posted by DarkUFO at 8/11/2009 08:11:00 AM View Comments Labels: Episode Cup

Update: 16:00 Here is Locke4God's penultimate stats update for the Episode Cup.

STATISTICAL UPDATE:


It wasn't as close as I might have imagined, but we knew this match was going to shake things up no matter which way it turned out that just 36% of the top 38 Brackets (those within 5 of the lead) got this one right. That's 14 right and 24 of the leaders wrong in today's match that saw our former champion "The Constant" go down. It's a bit of an historic day, and tomorrow we'll get to look forward to crowning a new champion, and I have no clue how that match will turn out. It could really go either way.

While a majority of brackets lost today's match, it was expected in a match that was going to be this close, and the great news is that a lot of you are going to get to move waaaaaaaay up in the rankings. I know I'd be happy to move from 200 to 100, or from page 2 to the top 20 at this point. If you got today's match right you're going to move up a lot, and you can look forward to the chance to do so again tomorrow. We should have a great final.


BREAKDOWN:

Of the Brackets with,,,

189 MAX Points: Just 1 of 3 of our leaders was correct today, for 33%
188 Points: 2 of 2 of those tied for 4th will move up to join the top 3 going into the final
187 Points: Only 1 of 3, 33%, of those 2 Points down picked correctly today
186 Points: 43%, or 3 of those brackets tied for 9th will move up
185 Points: An awful 13% or 2 of 15 brackets 4 points down were correct today, and,,,
184 Points: 5 of 13, or 38%, of those still within 5 points of the lead will maintain that status.

Again that gives us just 14 brackets remaining within 5 of the leaders as we trim down to the best of the best brackets. Not all 14 even have a shot to make it into the final 3, and congratulations to the 7 final brackets who have a great chance to make it into the prize pool with a win tomorrow in the final. And a great congratulations to Omi Paga and Jeff Reno, who are the last 2 brackets remaining with a chance to win it all. One will place 1st, the other may drop to 100th. Who will it be?

Here are the finalists with the match they chose to win it all

Through The Looking Glass
1st: Omi Papa
2nd: Adam S (Could place 3rd in a Tie-Breaker with Matthew Collier)
3rd: Matthew Collier (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam S)

The Incident
1st Jeff Reno
2nd &
3rd: Jack Kelly, Robert Patterson, & Andrea Gangl (2 of these 3 will place 2nd & 3rd, and will be determined by their final score Tie-Breaker)


And allow me to give mention to those who unfortunately lost today, but having picked a great match in "The Constant" They can't be faulted and they each did very well. Congratulations to each of you for making it so far, and on behalf of DarkUFO we wish you better luck next year, and in the upcoming CHARACTER CUP. Sign up for that if you haven't.

Taylor Clark, Amparo Plaza, David Kidd, Nathan Susag, Joseph Callahan, Chris Sheppard, Jonathan Dowkes, Adam Scott

Congratulations to Through the Looking Glass for making it through the final after a fairly crushing victory. Who will join them in the final?

Through the Looking Glass 2098 78%
Live Together, Die Alone 588 22%

We still have the same 2 bracket leaders,Taylor Clark and Amparo "aarlost" Plaza. How is your bracket fairing? How are your picks looking after today's polls. View Latest Brackets.

Later on Today our stats guru Locke4God will be presenting us with his stats analysis of the brackets and what it means for your chances of winning. We will update this post so keep checking back.

Today sees the second of the Semi-Final Matches.

As always let us know in the comments who you voted for and why. You can also follow along in the Official Episode Cup Thread.

Thanks to Dharmageddon for the images

The Incident
Jack and Sayid's plan faces resistance from Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate. Ben and The Others/Hostiles reach Jacob at the Foot of the Statue, and are soon met by the 316 survivors, who reveal the contents of their mysterious package.

The Constant
During the helicopter ride to the ship, Desmond's consciousness begins jumping back and forth between present day 2004 and 1996. He is forced to find Daniel Faraday in 1996 in order to get answers and stop the jumps.

The DarkUFO Episode Cup - Semi-Final 1 Posted by DarkUFO at 8/10/2009 10:33:00 AM View Comments Labels: Episode Cup

Update: 15:20 Here is Locke4God's latest stats update.

STATISTICAL UPDATE:


And "Through The Looking Glass" will get into the final as expected today, and pretty comfotably, but not as much as I might have though. 70% or more voted for it in today's poll, but 100% of the remaining 38 Brackets withing 5 points of the overall lead had selected it in their bracket. That made it an odds on favorite.

And now with it's place secure, "TTLG" will join either "The Constant" or "The Incident" in the final. All 3 were in the top 3 episodes selected by all brackets to make it to the final, and all 3 were in the top 3 episodes selected to actually win the final.

And it's pretty even. While today's Semi-Final is a little predictable, tomorrow's promises to be great, and the final even more so. I really have no idea, just looking at the numbers, what to expect. It could any way on both of the upcoming matches. Should be Interesting, and I know those still left in contention for a place among the top 3 will be glued to the results.

Here are those brackets again, underneath the scenerios it would take for them to win.


Constant (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)

1st: Taylor Clark (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Ampara Plaza )

2nd: Amparo Plaza (Could place 1st in Tie-Breaker with Taylor Clark)

3rd: David Kidd or Nathan Susag (TBD via Tie Breaker)



Incident (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)

1st: Omi Papa

2nd: Adam S (Could place 3rd in Tie-Breaker with Matthew Collier)

3rd: Matthew Collier (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam S)



Constant (Semi Final), Constant (Final)

1st: Jonathan Dowkes (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam Scott)

2nd: Adam Scott (Could place 1st in Tie-Break with Jonathan Dowkes)

3rd: Joseph Callahan or Chris Sheppard (TBD via Tie-Breaker)



Incident (Semi Final), Incident (Final)

1st: Jeff Reno

2nd &

3rd: Jack Kelly, Robert Patterson & Andrea Gangl (Any 2 of these 3 could place 2nd or 3rd TBD in a Tie-Breaker)





That's it for today. Tomorrow we'll take a closer look at the season by season breakdown, and the final 7 or 8 brackets who will be left to contend for a top 3 spot.



Tell us how you're doing though. While I'm concentrating on who is going to win, how many of you still have a chance to make the top 20? or break into the top 100 after a rough start? How many of you did better/the same/worse than last year?

We still have the same 2 bracket leaders,Taylor Clark and Amparo "aarlost" Plaza, but it's still anyone's game. How is your bracket fairing? How are your picks looking after today's polls. View Latest Brackets.

Later on Today our stats guru Locke4God will be presenting us with his stats analysis of the brackets and what it means for your chances of winning. We will update this post so keep checking back.

Today sees the first of the Semi-Final Matches, pitching last years winner against the Season 4 Finale... who will take the honors.

As always let us know in the comments who you voted for and why. You can also follow along in the Official Episode Cup Thread.

Thanks to Dharmageddon for the images

Live Together, Die Alone
After discovering a sailboat just offshore containing former hatch oversee Desmond, Jack and Sayid come up with a plan to confront "The Others" and hopefully get Walt back. Meanwhile, Eko and Locke come to blows as Locke makes a potentially cataclysmic decision regarding the "button" and the hatch.
Through the Looking Glass
Jack and the survivors wait for Charlie to turn off The Others' signal-jamming device, not knowing that he has been captured at the Looking Glass station. In addition, Sayid, Jin and Bernard are captured after The Others invade the camp.

The DarkUFO Episode Cup - QTR-Final 4 Posted by DarkUFO at 8/07/2009 09:07:00 AM View Comments Labels: Episode Cup

Update: 8th August The Polls have been closed and now we await the Semi-Finals which start on Monday. The Constant becomes our 4th semi-finalist. We've also updated the brackets and results.

The Constant 1651 64%
There's No Place Like Home 948 36%

Update: 15:00 Here is the final starts update before the Semi-Finals next week.

STATISTICAL UPDATE:



Help me out here, because this isn’t adding up. Today’s match is roughly 60-40, but HOW? A look at the top 41 Brackets (Everybody within 5 of the lead) reveals that 93% of them picked “The Constant” to win. So how does it only have 60? Not that “There’s No Place Like Home” isn’t a quality episode, but I imagine some of you may be out there trying to play spoiler. Regardless it looks as though “The Constant” will go through in the end, and that means just 38 Brackets will remain among those within 5 after today. Just think, if you’re one of those down by 5, if you had only picked one of those matches you lost in the 2nd Round correctly, you’d be right there in contention. Still, you have time to jump up to the first page of leaders by the end of this, which will give you some major bragging rights.



None of the top 15 Brackets lost today’s match however, and that means that nobody still in contention for a top 3 finish will loose their chance at that today. Those who still have a chance to place are listed below underneath the scenarios it would take to get them to the end. 15 Brackets still remain alive, and good luck to you all as we hit the Semi-Finals.





Constant (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)

1st: Taylor Clark (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Ampara Plaza)

2nd: Amparo Plaza (Could place 1st in Tie-Breaker with Taylor Clark)

3rd: David Kidd or Nathan Susag (TBD via Tie Breaker)



Incident (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)

1st: Omi Papa

2nd: Adam S (Could place 3rd in Tie-Breaker with Matthew Collier)

3rd: Matthew Collier (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam S)



Constant (Semi Final), Constant (Final)

1st: Jonathan Dowkes (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam Scott)

2nd: Adam Scott (Could place 1st in Tie-Break with Jonathan Dowkes)

3rd: Joseph Callahan or Chris Sheppard (TBD via Tie-Breaker)



Incident (Semi Final), Incident (Final)

1st: Jeff Reno

2nd &

3rd: Jack Kelly, Robert Patterson & Andrea Gangl (Any 2 of these 3 could place 2nd or 3rd TBD in a Tie-Breaker)





SEASON VS SEASON:



Below are the records for each season to date. I thought about compiling these after a conversation I had yesterday with another site visitor who posed a theory that I've heard a lot, as to whether the later seasons get an unfair boost simply because they are newer episodes. Take a look for a moment, decide for yourself, and I've listed the episodes for each season to the right that have made the final 4. Below that, the episodes to make the elite 8 and the episodes, followed below that by the number in the sweet 16.



Season 1: 9-14

Season 2: 10-10 Live Together, Die Alone

Season 3: 16-14 Through The Looking Glass

Season 4: 11-9 The Constant

Season 5: 13-12 The Incident



Season 1: 2- Pilot/ Exodus

Season 2: 1- Live Together, Die Alone

Season 3: 2- Through The Looking Glass/ The Man From Tallahassee

Season 4: 2- The Constant/ There's No Place Like Home

Season 5: 1- The Incident



Season 1: 2

Season 2: 3

Season 3: 5

Season 4: 3

Season 5: 3



(Now I do have a disclaimer. I have missed an episode somewhere that would have a 1-1 record by itself. Since that episode would obviously add 1 win and 1 loss to the same season, I'm not going to the trouble of trying to find it. The results remain very very close to the way you see them, and wouldn’t effectively change anything.)



Now looking at this I notice a few things. Season 1, doesn't have a final 4 episode, and it has the only loosing record of any season. Season 2 also has the 2nd worst record. And you might say of the 4 finalists, Season 2's is probably the weakest, meaning the only real competitors are from the final 3 seasons.



BUT!! Season 1 & 2 have exactly the same number of final 8 episodes (3) as do seasons 4 & 5 combined, and while the latter 3 seasons do have winning records, none of them are by any means significantly better than any other season with the exception of season 1. Season 1 even has 2 episodes to Season 5’s 1 episode in the final 8. Also the 4 finalists are spread out over 4 seasons going back to season 2, and you don't get much more even than that.



And if you keep going to the Sweet 16 number, it looks like there's more of a season 3 bias than anything. A lot of good episodes from that year, which is funny, because the first half of that season took some pretty good shots from critics. And if you notice, the episodes that perform well in the cup, come from very late in that season.



So decide for yourself. I don’t know what the general consensus is. I tend to think that it’s a logical idea that a new episode would have an advantage and so people sort of tend to believe that is true, but I don’t think the number really bare that out. Slightly yes, but Season 2 is still doing very well, and certainly Season 3 is every bit as or more competitive as the past 2 have been. I just thought it was a good discussion though, so bring on your own evidence either way in the boards, and we’ll take a look.

Congratulations to The Incident for being our 3rd Semi-Finalist.

The Incident 1566 57%
Pilot 1184 43%

We still have the same 2 bracket leaders,Taylor Clark and Amparo "aarlost" Plaza, but it's still anyone's game. How is your bracket fairing? How are your picks looking after today's polls. View Latest Brackets.

Later on Today our stats guru Locke4God will be presenting us with his stats analysis of the brackets and what it means for your chances of winning. We will update this post so keep checking back.

Today sees the last of the Qtr-Final Matches, pitching last years winner against the Season 4 Finale... who will take the honors.

As always let us know in the comments who you voted for and why. You can also follow along in the Official Episode Cup Thread.

The Constant
During the helicopter ride to the ship, Desmond's consciousness begins jumping back and forth between present day 2004 and 1996. He is forced to find Daniel Faraday in 1996 in order to get answers and stop the jumps.

There's No Place Like Home
Ben, Locke, and Hurley go to The Orchid, but Keamy and his men beat them there. Jack and Kate go after the helicopter, and are later joined by Sawyer. Sayid comes back to the island with a rescue boat, and then goes after them too. Ben tries to escape Keamy's custody so that he and Locke can follow through with Jacob's request to move the island. Michael tries to neutralize the explosives on the boat, while the "Oceanic 6" move closer to rescue.

The Official LOST Audio Podcast: August 6th, 2009 Posted by DarkUFO at 8/07/2009 08:43:00 AM View Comments Labels: Audio, Comic-Con

Executive Producers Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis discuss the behind the scenes at Comic Con 2009 and their role on LOST.

New Arg? Posted by DarkUFO at 8/06/2009 08:29:00 PM View Comments Labels: Announcements

Update: Please post your comments in the Forum thread to avoid duplication. Comment here have been turned off.

We've been following a potential new Arg here in the forums.

Feel free to join in the discussion and let us know if you find anything.

The DarkUFO Episode Cup - QTR-Final 3 Posted by DarkUFO at 8/06/2009 09:04:00 AM View Comments Labels: Episode Cup

Update: See what our stats Guru Locke4God has got to say on these latest results.

STATISTICAL UPDATE:

And Then There were 15!!! That's right, we are down to just 15 Brackets that have a shot to place in the top 3, and only 6, that have a shot to win it all. That is of course baring an upset of "The Constant" in tomorrow's match, or an upset of "Through the Looking Glass" in the semi-finals. Of course if there is an upset, everything changes, but I don't think I'd bet on it.

And so here is your list of remaining contendors, directly underneath the scenerios it would take for them to earn their spots on the podium. WHICH SCENERIO DO YOU THINK IS MOST LIKELY TO PLAY OUT?


Incident (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)
1st: Taylor Clark (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Ampara Plaza)
2nd: Amparo Plaza (Could place 1st in Tie-Breaker with Taylor Clark)
3rd: David Kidd or Nathan Susag (TBD via Tie Breaker)

Incident (Quarter Final), Incident (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)
1st: Omi Papa
2nd: Adam S (Could place 3rd in Tie-Breaker with Matthew Collier)
3rd: Matthew Collier (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam S)

Incident (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Constant (Final)
1st: Jonathan Dowkes (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam Scott)
2nd: Adam Scott (Could place 1st in Tie-Break with Jonathan Dowkes)
3rd: Joseph Callahan or Chris Sheppard (TBD via Tie-Breaker)

Incident (Quarter Final), Incident (Semi Final), Incident (Final)
1st: Jeff Reno
2nd &
3rd: Jack Kelly, Robert Patterson & Andrea Gangl (Any 2 of these 3 could place 2nd or 3rd TBD in a Tie-Breaker with Robert Patterson)


Sadly we must say BUENOS TARDES to the following brackets, who put up a great fight, but will be assured of coming up short this year following today's result. Each of them made a bold choice to have the "Pilot" press on into the Semi-Finals, and I can't fault them for doing so. It's clearly a great episode, and on behalf of DarkUFO, congratulations to you for placing so well, we wish each of you better luck next year, and in the upcoming Character Cup. Don't forget to sign up for that!!!

Pilot (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)
1st: Penguin Josh
2nd: Corey Fisher
3rd: Kevin Buryanek

Pilot (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Constant (Final)
1st: Geoff Cox
2nd: Jeff Rossenburg
3rd: Brett Chai


RESULTS:

Today is a much much better match than we've seen in the past week. Of course you can tell by the current voting, but also among the top 60 brackets (those still within 5 of the lead) just 68% picked this one correctly. That's 19 misses, which means a lot of you will have the chance to move up a bit. If you're within at least 9 of the lead, that means you'll pass all 19 of these guys, and quite a few more outside of the top 60 as well, as you gain 8 points on them.

Early on, several comments I'd read more or less labled "Pilot" as a bit of an X-Factor episode. One that everybody obviously knew, and was a landmark episode, but wasn't really anybody's true favorite, and so it was hard to determine just how far it would go. Was it a true contendor, or just a top 16 type episode, and that dilemma played out today.

Of those with,,,

189 Points - and the lead, 100% of brackets picked correctly. That's all 3 of them.
188 Points - Only 2 of the 4 remaining at this level were correct. 50%
187 Points - 3 of these 3 were correct. 100%, and they stay in contention.
186 Points - 7 of the 10 at this level were correct for 70%.
185 Points - An ugly 11 of 20 were correct for just 55% of those 4 off the lead, and,,,
184 Points - 75% of those rounding out the top brackets were correct, or 15 of the final 20 to remain within 5 of the lead.

So as you will note, our 60 final brackets within that 5 Point barrier of the lead, will now dwindle to just 41.


OUTLOOK:

I may be presumtious, but the next 2 matches are where you'll either see a major upset, or you won't. "The Constant" in the last Quarter-Final, and then "Through The Looking Glass" in the first Semi-Final appear to be big favorites. But crazier things have happened.

If things hold up though, we're looking at a great Semi-Final match on Monday featuring today's eventual winner "The Incident" vs a big time favorite and former winner "The Constant" These two are mega favorites to win it all, and I can tell you that they are picked by a near even split among all brackets to win not only this Semi-Final, but they are picked almost evenly to win the whole thing as well. That means this might be the best match of this tournament, and I can't wait to see it.

One final interesting note. I don't think it should go unmentioned that in regards to Friday's first Semi-Final, as great as "Live Together, Die Alone" is, and it's earned it's spot, "Lafleur", "Walkabout", "The Man Behind The Curtain", and "Exodus" were all picked by more brackets to win against ",,, Looking Glass" and none of them actually made it into the match. I don't know what that says about "LTDA's" chances to win, but I don't imagine it's good.

We'll see you all tomorrow.

Congratulations to Through the Looking Glass for being our 2nd Semi-Finalist.

Through the Looking Glass 2183 82%
Exodus 465 18%

We still have the same 2 bracket leaders,Taylor Clark and Amparo "aarlost" Plaza, but it's still anyone's game. How is your bracket fairing? How are your picks looking after today's polls. View Latest Brackets.

Later on Today our stats guru Locke4God will be presenting us with his stats analysis of the brackets and what it means for your chances of winning. We will update this post so keep checking back.

Today sees the 3rd of the Qtr-Final Matches, pitching the first ever episode of Lost against the most recent... who will take the honors.

As always let us know in the comments who you voted for and why. You can also follow along in the Official Episode Cup Thread.

Pilot
Jack, Kate and Charlie return to the group, but the transceiver is broken. Sayid Jarrah fixes the apparatus and organizes an expedition with Kate, Charlie, Shannon Rutherford and her brother Boone Carlyle and the dangerous James "Sawyer" Ford to hike and climb a mountain to transmit a SOS. The group receives a sixteen years old distress call from a French woman in the island instead and kills a polar bear. They return to the survivor's base and decide to hide the information to preserve the hope of the group.

The Incident
Jack and Sayid's plan faces resistance from Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate. Ben and The Others/Hostiles reach Jacob at the Foot of the Statue, and are soon met by the 316 survivors, who reveal the contents of their mysterious package.

The DarkUFO Episode Cup - QTR-Final 2 Posted by DarkUFO at 8/05/2009 08:47:00 AM View Comments Labels: Episode Cup

Update: 16:30 Here is Locke4God's latest Stats Update.

STATISTICAL UPDATE:

Just 60 Brackets now account for all of those within 5 Points of the lead. And guess what? All 60 picked today's match correctly. I had actually thought this might be one of the more difficult picks we've seen over the past week, even though "Through The Looking Glass" is clearly a strong episode, but I was wrong, and it's definately poised now to make a run at the title. As one sided as several resent matches have been, not one of them were picked unanamously by those within 5 of the lead. There were always at least a few miss-picks. How strong does that mean ",,, Looking Glass" really is?


OVERVIEW:

101 Points - 3 Brackets still sit at the top, hording the top 3 places to themselves, and preventing you from the prize pool. More on them later.
100 Points - 4 more brackets wait in a tie for 4th.
99 Points - 3 Brackets sit just under the century mark in 8th Place
98 Points - 10 Brackets remain in a tie for 11th
97 Points - 20 hang on to a tie for 21st, and,,,
96 Points - 20 more cling to hope in a tie for 41st, but do any of you in this category have hope even if you win the rest of your matches. Of course there's not hope for anybody if you lose now.


SCENERIOS:

As I look out on the remaining matchups, I'm of the opinion (and this is just my opinion) that there are only 3 of significance, while the rest seem pretty cut and dry. Tomorrow's match pitting the "Pilot" vs. "The Incident", the following Semi-Final match pitting the winner of that match very likely against "The Constant", and then the winner of that match, very likely against "Through The Looking Glass" in the Final.

If there is a major upset somewhere else then the following gets thrown in the trash heap, but if all of the remaining matches play out as expected then I count 20 Brackets that still have a legitimate shot at winning, depending on how our 3 remaining "significant" matches turn out.

I've broken down who WILL BE the winners if the following scenerios play out in order of what seems most likely based on what the top brackets have picked. Things could always change though. Their current position on the leaderboard is listed in (#). Notice all of the top 15 have a shot, but after that only #18, 19, 20, 26, and 28 can still get in without a major upset.


If the winning episodes turn out to be,

Incident (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)
1st: Taylor Clark (1st) (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Ampara Plaza)
2nd: Amparo Plaza (2nd) (Could place 1st in Tie-Breaker with Taylor Clark)
3rd: David Kidd (14th) or Nathan Susag (20th) (Tie Breaker)

Incident (Quarter Final), Incident (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)
1st: Omi Papa (3rd)
2nd: Adam S (4th) (Could place 3rd in Tie-Breaker with Matthew Collier)
3rd: Matthew Collier (6th) (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam S)

Incident (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Constant (Final)
1st: Jonathan Dowkes (9th) (Could place 2nd in Tie-Breaker with Adam Scott)
2nd: Adam Scott (10th) (Could place 1st in Tie-Break with Jonathan Dowkes)
3rd: Joseph Callahan (11th) or Chris Sheppard (19th) (Tie-Breaker)

Pilot (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Looking Glass (Final)
1st: Penguin Josh (5th)
2nd: Corey Fisher (12th)
3rd: Kevin Buryanek (26th) (A very few number of Brackets, if any, who have this scenerio below #26 and have 185 MAX Point potential will qualify for a tie-breaker)

Pilot (Quarter Final), Constant (Semi Final), Constant (Final)
1st: Geoff Cox (7th)
2nd: Jeff Rossenburg (18th)
3rd: Brett Chai (28th) (A very few number of Brackets, if any, who have this scenerio below #28 and have 185 MAX Point potential will qualify for a tie-breaker)

Incident (Quarter Final), Incident (Semi Final), Incident (Final)
1st: Jeff Reno (8th)
2nd: Jack Kelly (13th) (Could place 3rd in Tie-Breaker with Robert Patterson)
3rd: Robert Patterson (15th) (Could place 2nd in Tie-breaker with Jack Kelly)

So that's it. It will be interesting to see which group of 3 will make it in the end, as the 3 crucial matches are all going to be close. But what a turn of events it would be if the Constant were to lose at the end of this round, or if Looking Glass were to lose in the semi -final. If that is the case none of these Brackets would make it, and somebody, maybe even you, would jump up from way down to pass them all.

Either way only 8 have a chance now of winning it all. We'll take a closer look at those tomorrow.

But for now, congratulations to these Brackets for hanging in there until the end.. Good luck the rest of the way.

Congratulations to Live Together, Die Alone for taking the 1st Semi-Final place in another very easy win.

Live Together, Die Alone 1808 79%
The Man from Tallahassee 481 21%

We still have the same 2 bracket leaders,Taylor Clark and Amparo "aarlost" Plaza, but it's still anyone's game. How is your bracket fairing? How are your picks looking after today's polls. View Latest Brackets.

Later on Today our stats guru Locke4God will be presenting us with his stats analysis of the brackets and what it means for your chances of winning. We will update this post so keep checking back.

Today sees the 2nd of the Qtr-Final Matches. Will today's contest be any closer?

As always let us know in the comments who you voted for and why. You can also follow along in the Official Episode Cup Thread.

Through the Looking Glass
Jack and the survivors wait for Charlie to turn off The Others' signal-jamming device, not knowing that he has been captured at the Looking Glass station. In addition, Sayid, Jin and Bernard are captured after The Others invade the camp.

Exodus
Danielle Rousseau arrives in the camp of survivors at the beach and advises that "The Others" are coming, since there is a black smoke in the sky, and they have three choices: run, hide, or die. Jack recalls his meeting with Ana Lucia Cortez (Michelle Rodriguez) in the airport. Meanwhile, the group is launching the raft in the sea. Sawyer tells Jack the conversation he had with his father in a bar in Australia. Jack, Kate, Locke, Hurley and the boring Leslie Arzt (Daniel Roebuck) go in an expedition to bring explosives from the Black Rock to blow the hatch and shelter the survivors against "The Others". Meanwhile, Jin and Sun make peace and there are farewells to Michael, Walt, Sawyer and Jin as they finally set sail on their makeshift raft to find help and safety.

Mysteries of The Universe - Part 2 Posted by DarkUFO at 8/04/2009 06:01:00 PM View Comments Labels: ABC, Dharma, Video

Update: 5th August Thanks to Lostpedia for the transcript.

NARRATOR: We now return to Mysteries Of The Universe, the DHARMA Initiative.

Outside of Los Vegas, Nevada, 1978. A University of Los Vegas college student purchases a jumpsuit for a college party at a local thrift store. He attends the party dressed as a janitor. During the course of the evening he is photographed for the college newspaper. Three weeks later a mysterious knock sounds at the door of his fraternity house. Two men begin to ask a series of detailed questions to the student in regard to the origin of his costume. The men eventually leave after learning all they can, leaving the bemuddled youth in a cloud of unanswered questions of his own. The only distinguishing feature of this garment is this logo, a curiously shaped octagon with the word 'DHARMA' in the middle. What was once an innocent Halloween costume is now the impetus for the much larger investigation at hand. What or who is the DHARMA Initiative?

Aliens. Flying saucers. Abductions. Nevada has long been known for an area of considerable importance to other-worldly creatures. Some claim that the area is a veritable hotbed of extra-terrestrial activity known as Area 51. Could the proximity of this incident in relation to Area 51 be a link to an answer? It is suspected that workers at the infamous military base are known to wear color-coded jumpsuits, much like the one found in the thrift store, that designate their rank and occupation. Those that work there, or claim to work there, are said to vanish for long periods of time. If the government or someone claiming to be from the government is concerned about a missing article of clothing, then why are they not concerned about a person gone missing? In the following interview, we speak to someone who claims his neighbour vanished after completing a job interview with a mysterious group that was looking to fill an open position.

MAN: My neighbour Phil was looking for a job. He said he was on round five of an interview for this comp[?] out in Michigan. Five interviews is a lot of interviews, especially for a security guard position. Phil said they had him take all sort of weird head exams, ink blots – just kind of random exams like that.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So tell me when was the last time you saw Phil?

MAN: Huh last time I saw Phil... er he said something about going back for the last interview, and then I never saw the guy again. Someone came, sold his house, took his car. Even took his dog. His girlfriend didn't even know. I called the police, they said they would investigate. That was a year ago, the guy's gone.

NARRATOR: Cases like this are not unique. The United States is riddled with stories of people disappearing after participating in questionable job interviews. There are four common traits of the job postings. This graphic watermark [shows DHARMA logo]. The quantity of similar job openings. Strange tests. And the large number of interviews. And almost without fail, after accepting the position, the applicant disappears. A large number of interviews for occupations such as physicist and engineer are standard. But why would a job opening for a car mechanic require five interviews? Why does a janitor position involve psychological testing? Why do these people leave without explanation? Portland, Oregon. Our investigation of similar disappearances led us to this woman: a grade school teacher named Olivia. Her family and friends said she applied for a teaching position, interviewed heavily for the job and then left without a trace. Her apartment was subleased for three years, with no explanation of her absence. Her parents were recently interviewed:

FATHER: She just left one day. Disappeared. And I haven't heard from her since.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Do you think she left for a job, or... ?

FATHER: Huh, a job?! She had a job. [Cuts] I mean she's gone.

NARRATOR: Note the graphic seal on the upper-right corner of this preliminary job application, supplied to us by Olivia's parents. It matches the one on the jumpsuit and job posting. Secret societies are known to use special identifying symbols to assist members in identification of official document and property. Often used in these interviews is the Rorschach test. This test is used with the psychiatric community to assist in determining a person's mental state. It is also often used on the criminally insane. Here is a list of questions we found for an interview. Why should a veterinarian be profiled in the same manner as a psychotic killer? Intense interviews. Psychological tests. Disappearances. Secrecy. If someone or some group is putting this much effort into interviews then exactly what type of organization is this? All the puzzle pieces are there, but the more we try to put them together the more pieces are added to the table. An ever expanding table, and the place setting is serving up... mystery.

Update: 18:40 Just added some screencaps.
Thanks to cypher80b for the heads up.

Get ready for Aliens baby :)