The Frank Pembleton Award- Lead Character Action

Named For: Frank Pembleton played by Andre Braugher in
Homicide: Life on the Street
Awarded To: The best lead character in an action series from
June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: James 'Sawyer' Ford- Lost

Place. Character (Show) Points (My Vote)

10. Patrick Jane (The Mentalist) 2 points

9. Jack Bauer (24) 7 points

8. John Casey (Chuck) 8 points

7. Walter White (Breaking Bad) 12 points

6. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck) 14 points

5. Jackson Teller (Sons of Anarchy) 18 points (3rd)

4. Hugo Reyes (Lost) 18 points (2nd)

3. Raylan Givens (Justified) 19 points (5th)

Runner-Up
2. James 'Sawyer' Ford (Lost) 21 points (4th)

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Jack Shephard (Lost)
32 points (1st)

My relationship with Jack Shephard has been a tumultuous one over the past five years. I was a Sawyer guy from the jump, so it was hard to be on board with Jack at the beginning. When I started watching the series with Lar and Mags, the latter was on the Sayid train and the former was the Jack guy. I wasn't really about either of them.

As the seasons went along, whether it was just hate building on indifference or the fact that he actually did get more and more annoying, my hatred for Jack Shephard grew fierce throughout seasons two to five. Now I know I wasn't alone on this because even though I placed him on last year's ballot for the Teri Bauer Award for the Character You Love to Hate in an Action Series, I was not responsible for any of his three total points.

Then came this final season of Lost. While Sawyer was the absolute stud of season five, he took a back seat to Jack as the season came to a close. Jack started the series as a guy who helped everyone survive out of necessity and although he seemed to grow more and more whiny and arrogant as the series went along, season six changed things.

He still wanted to help in any way he could, but at this point he didn't really know what to do. He who once was the man of science, had taken over for the late John Locke as the man of faith. He had faith that he had come back to the Island for a bigger purpose and he spent most of season six trying to figure out what that was.

This willingness to let others lead, and figure things out along the way, was what made him so easy to love in this final season. The character I previously was all about (Sawyer) clammered on about leaving the Island and really had no idea what was going on; therefore I lost a bit of respect for him. Jack, on the other hand, was ready willing and able to take on the challenge that was in front of him.

Don't get me wrong, he didn't lose any of the 'man of action' in him that made many love him in season one. Come 'The End' he started to figure out what he needed to do and took care of business as he pummeled the Man In Black on the cliffs, got the stopper back into the Glowing Cave, and wobbled through the jungle to find a nice place to die.

At the end of it all, seeing him smile once awakened in the Sideways Purgatory was one of the best moments of the show. I've watch it back three or four times now, and although there will always be a special place in my heart for Sawyer/Juliet, Jack reliving life in his mind might be my favorite part of the show. He did so much for all of the people in his life and in the end he saved one of the most magical places in the world from crumbling into oblivian.

I find it so awesome that this character not only goes out on top in the series, but also in the Poolies. As a once hater, I am now a Jack Shephard lover and wouldn't have it any other way. His place in history is set as he leaves the television airways as the holder of the Frank Pembleton Award at the 2010 Poolies. See ya in another life, yeah?

LOST- All Hands On Deck

Jack Shephard- "Maybe he's afraid of what happens if we stay."

I usually do all my writing before I read anyone else's ideas on an episode, but after seeing Larry tweet "Lots of walking around the island tonight on LOST...when's chuck back?" I figured I'd look around the blogoshpere to see if I was in the minority in thinking that last night's LOST was fantastic television. I made sure not to check out those with LOST biases (Doc Jensen at EW and Ryan McGee at Zap2It) and still everyone seemed to be on the same page as me. Alan Sepinwall from the Star Ledger, Kristin Dos Santos at E! and everyone in between had nothing but good things to say about last night's The Last Recruit.

And why not? We got one of those LOST episodes that didn't focus on just one character, but gave us a little bit of everyone. On both the Island, and the sideways world, all of our favorite characters were reuniting in one way or another. All the relationships that we hadn't seen for a while (Hurley and Claire, Jack and Sawyer to name a couple) were brought back to us and gave us a chance think about everything these people have been through together.

Sure there was a lot of walking around the island, but there was also swimming and sailing. And does that mean that nothing really happened? No. We start up where we left off. With the reunion of Jack and unLocke. "Hello Jack, I was hoping you'd come back...I think we have some catching up to do" the Man In Black says. Jack goes with him to have a chat and the good doctor continues his journey to being an enjoyable character. He starts asking the MIB questions.

Jack- "My third day here I chased my father through the jungle...my dead father...was that you?
MIB- "Yes that was me."

UnLocke claims that he did all of those things to help him and the people on the Island. In this case it was because Jack needed to find water in the jungle. Do we believe the Man In Black or is he just trying to get Dr. Shephard on his side? But at least we know that the MIB has been taking on the shapes of many of the figments we've seen over the years.

Meanwhile over in sideways universe all of our favorites are meeting up. Sun, Locke, Ben and Jack all end up in the hospital together. What did Sun recognize when she saw Locke in the stretcher next to her? Did she have her memory moment? Did she remember him as the Man In Black? When Jack was about to start his surgery he recognized Locke as well, but this was probably because of the convo they had at the airport right? Not all of their Island history.

Sideways Jack also found out that Claire is his sister when Desmond pushes her to see his attorney Ilana. We also get Sawyer and Kate with a whole mess of chemistry at the police station and then Sawyer and Miles taking down Sayid to bring him downtown. Aren't all of these interchanges just awesome to watch?

Back in Island world the Man In Black comes up with a plan to bring every one over to Hydra Island to battle Widmore. My man James Ford has other ideas. He has decided to get the heck out of this place with Jack, Kate, Hugo, Sun and "that pilot that looks like he stepped off the set of some Burt Reynolds movie" (Sawyer's words not mine). Why no Sayid or Claire? Because they've always been terrible characters? True but not the reason. They've gone over to the dark side Sawyer explains to Hurley. Hugo, the pop-culture fan that he is, explains that you can come back, like Anakin.

Of course Claire has to follow the group of studs and ruin everything. Kate convinces her to come with them, against Sawyer's wishes. Oh well. But who comes up big as a huge stud once again this ep? Jacko. He is just chilling on the end of the boat pondering to himself about the big picture of life ya know? Sawyer confronts him and Jack realizes that this whole plan is wrong. And I agree with him totally.

Like I said before, why would Sawyer's mighty plan be to leave the Island. They've already left the Island. That's not gonna change anything. Jack's right in that "The Island's not done with us yet." The Man In Black is trying to get everyone to leave, so why would you leave? You all know that he is a bad dude. As Jack said, "Maybe he's afraid of what happens if we stay." Exactly. The old man of science has become the man of faith and it shows once again that he may be the man to take Jacob's place.

LOST- The Coward James Ford

UnLocke- "I had problems that could have been avoided had things been different."

James 'Sawyer' Ford has been one of my favorite television characters for the past few years. Although I loved his sideways story, he took a few steps backwards for me tonight. Unless he is lying to UnLocke, Widmore, Kate and everybody else about his end game being getting off The Island, Sawyer's got some serious issues.

So Sawyer, you've been on this Island for over three years. You've seen a Black Smoke Monster eat people. You've seen a fellow passenger be reincarnated by said Smoke Monster. You've watched another fellow castaway be revived by a magic hot tub. And you think that you need to just get off of this Island and everything will be okay? You have to be kidding right?

Please tell me this whole thing is one big hoax, because you know that Kate, Jack and the rest of the Oceanic Six have already been off The Island and since come back. It wasn't enough for them to get off the Island, why will it be enough for you? This character has never been this dumb before.

Don't get me wrong, I loved his idea of having Widmore and UnLocke beat the crap out of each other (if Widmore's armed gunmen would even have any effect on the Monster), but my man James has to have a better end game. Destroy the Island? Rule the Island? Something to make things different around those parts. Leaving the Island won't solve anything, as we've seen before.

Now that I got my complaining out of the way, I can get to what was really good about this episode. James Ford making the right decision in the sideways world. As he said, he got to a point where he was going to be a criminal or a cop and he chose cop. I thought this was very indicative of the sideways world in that most of the characters are making better choices and/or leading better lives than their Island counterparts.

Well not all of them. It seems that Sawyer, Jack, Lock, Linus are all better people in sideways world, but not Kate or Sayid. We already know that Sayid has fallen to the dark side, does that mean that Kate is destined for darkness as well?

I loved Sawyer as a detective, especially when we first find out, because he was almost mirroring the Sawyer we saw in flashbacks oh so long ago. That is until we found out the whole thing was a setup by the LAPD. Studly. His code word for his partner Miles to come in and save the day? Lafleur! Perfect.

Other Points

- As the quote at the top shows, UnLocke continued to explain his feelings to characters on the show this week. This time it is with Kate in order to let her know what he thinks baby Aaron might be in for. Since "Aaron has a crazy mother too" the kid might be the next one to take Smokey's place.

- UnLocke- "I'm the smoke thing." And Sawyer doesn't even blink twice at it.

- UnLocke explains that the Temple people think they are protecting the Island from him, but he really just wants to leave. I don't buy it. He kills because he's a killer. There's something bigger for him than getting off the Island. Even though Jacob is dead, maybe he needs to kill Jacob's soul as well?

- Another great mirror scene in the sideways world as Sawyer gazes into it before smashing it in.

LOST- Crunching The Numbers

If you aren't filled with extreme excitement after watching that episode of LOST, then you might want to check your pulse because you are probably not alive. If last week's What Kate Does was a bit of a setback, last night's The Substitute brought everything back around. Is that because The Island story dealt mostly with Sawyer and the MIB? Probably.

Let's cut right to the chase. The MIB and Sawyer climb down the side of a mountain to get to the inside of a wall-cave. Here is where the magic happens. We finally get to The Numbers! And what is it? Oh just something me and Larry predicted a couple weeks ago in The Poolcast. Each person on The List has been assigned a number by Jacob.

What numbers?
4-Locke
8- Reyes
15- Ford
16- Jarrah
23- Shephard
42- Kwon

First reaction is that 42 has to be Jin because it seems Jacob is very sexist. How do I know this? Because Kate was not given a number. Anyone have a reason why she would be a candidate? Well because Jacob thinks females are terrible and incapable of protecting The Island. So that's what these six people are...candidates to take over Jacob's position as Island Protector. That is why Locke was allowed access to Jacob's four-toed statue, because he was one of the candidates.

So obviously Locke was the best candidate because of his obvious love for The Island, but sadly he is dead. Unless parallel world Locke crosses over and becomes the new protector. Is anyone going to take over for Jacob? And if so, who will it be?

If MIB wants to leave The Island so badly, what is stopping him now? Jacob is dead, how come he can't just get out of there (if Jacob was the thing stopping him before this). Or maybe when he says he wants to escape it's not from The Island, but from the hold it or Jacob has over him. My theory is that it has something to do with that little kid in the jungle. The one that told MIB that "you know the rules, you can't kill him."

What I don't get is why after he heard that, the MIB screamed out, "Don't tell me what I can't do!" He's not Locke, he just looks like him. Is he now becoming like John Locke the more he takes on his shape? And how come that chick said that he is now stuck looking like Locke. Is that also because Jacob is dead? What else has changed to make it so that he can't change his form into another person? We do know that he can still change into Smokey. So there's that.

This was definitely just a whole bunch of rambling, but that's what LOST will do to you sometimes. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Other Thoughts

-Nice reappearance by Gemma Teller Morrow as parallel Locke's girlfriend. After two weeks of sideways stories I can say that they are absolutely taking away from The Island stories. They better pay off in the end with a huge cross between storylines, or they will be all for not.

-Before MIB gets Sawyer, he is "recruiting" Richard. What was his plan with him? We do know that he would have never kept Richard in the dark like Jacob did all this time.

-Sawyer, "Of Mice and Men...know that one?" MIB, "Nope...little past my time." Love that.

-The MIB's monologue about how he was once a man like Sawyer, capable of feeling emotions, was fantastic.

-Ben Linus's eulogy was also great. "He was a better man than I'll ever be and I'm sorry I murdered him." Classic.

Poolies Watch- Frank Pembleton Award

This is a tough category to judge at this point...best lead character in an action series. The big guns, Lost, Chuck and 24, won't start until mid-season. My vote is always gonna be for Sawyer in this category, but with the transfer of House to action, there is a solid Big Four of characters behind him that are the focal point of their respective shows.

Main Men
Chuck Bartowski- Chuck
Greg House- House
Jack Bauer- 24
James 'Sawyer' Ford- Lost
Patrick Jane- The Mentalist

So far in this season of Heroes, Sylar has taken a bit of a back seat, so I moved him to the supporting category for now. The next five spots are really open for the taking. I see both of the Chuck characters, Casey and Morgan, holding spots. Also whoever takes a main role in Lost's final season will probably get a nod (Hurley, Linus, Locke, etc.)

In for Now
Hugo Reyes- Lost
John Casey- Chuck
John Locke- Lost
Morgan Grimes- Chuck
Noah Bennett- Heroes

Who will challenge for the final spots? Which characters from Flash Forward have been good so far? Who do the Fringe Boys like these days? Peter? That bald headed dude? Any other Losties gonna make a run? We shall see...

Outside Looking In
Demetri Noh- Flash Forward
Hiro Nakamura- Heroes
Jason Stackhouse- True Blood
Mark Benford- Flash Forward
Sayid Jarrah- Lost

Who else is out there?

Preseason Character Rankings

Honorable Mentions

Don Draper
Jon Hamm- Mad Man

Ari Gold
Jeremy Piven- Entourage

Ben Linus
Michael Emerson- Lost

Eric Northman
Alexander Skarsgard- True Blood

Matt Saracen
Zach Gilford- Friday Night Lights

Nathan Scott
James Lafferty- One Tree Hill

Top 20

20. Chloe O'Brian
Mary Lynn Rajskub- 24

19. Mark Sloan
Eric Dane- Grey's Anatomy

18. Johnny Chase
Kevin Dillon- Entourage

17. Alex Russo
Selena Gomez- Wizards of Waverly Place

16. Greg House
Hugh Laurie- House, MD

15. Jack Bauer
Kiefer Sutherland- 24

14. Morgan Grimes
Joshua Gomez- Chuck

13. Jack Donaghy
Alec Baldwin- 30 Rock

12. Julian Baker
Austin Nichols- One Tree Hill

11. Gabriel Sylar
Zachary Quinto- Heroes

10. Miley Stewart
Miley Cyrus- Hannah Montana

9. Michael Scott
Steve Carell- The Office

8. Cappie
Scott Michael Foster- Greek

7. Chuck Bartowski
Zach Levi- Chuck

6. Tim Riggins
Taylor Kitsch- Friday Night Lights

5. Dwight Schrute
Rainn Wilson- The Office

4. Patrick Jane
Simon Baker- The Mentalist

3. Larry David
Larry David- Curb Your Enthusiasm

2. Tracy Jordan
Tracy Morgan- 30 Rock

1. James 'Sawyer' Ford
Josh Holloway- Lost

The Frank Pembleton Award (2009)

The Frank Pembleton Award for
Best Lead Character in an Action Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Peter Petrelli (Heroes)- 0 points

9th. John Connor (Terminator: TSCC)- 3 points

8th. Friday (Crusoe)- 5 points

7th. John Locke (Lost)- 6 points

6th. Gabriel Sylar (Heroes)- 8 points...(3rd)

5th. Benjamin Linus (Lost)- 9 points

4th. Patrick Jane (The Mentalist)- 9 points...(2nd)

3rd. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)- 15 points...(4th)

Runner-Up
2nd. Jack Bauer (24)- 16 points...(5th)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. James 'Sawyer' Ford (Lost)- 16 points...(1st)
And with no guest spot, you are stuck with me on this one...

With all of the ups and downs, ins and outs, curve balls and game changers over the past five years on and off the Lost island, one thing has remained constant. Sawyer is an absolute stud. In the time we’ve spent with James on the island, we’ve witnessed him hoard supplies, kill the real Sawyer, shack up with Jack’s woman and give out plenty of nicknames.

In season five, the con-man really got a chance to shine. With the departure of the Oceanic Six it was Sawyer’s turn to step up to the plate and lead this group of idiots. With time travel happening all around them James is the strong, take action leader that the pastaways need. Time stops in the mid 1970s with the Dharma Initiative in full swing. When the pastaways are captured by Dharma, Sawyer takes the opportunity to put his conniving skills to good use as he comes up with an elaborate story in which his name is Jim LaFleur and his group was on a salvage vessel looking for the Black Rock. Three years pass and Sawyer is sly enough to become head of security at this joke of an Initiative, woo Juliet into a relationship, in which she makes him dinner every night, and live happily ever after in Dharmaville. That is until Jack, Kate and the gang come back and ruin all of his fun.