And Cheech Marin in bad "youthful" makeup running out on Hurley and his mom.

You know what would get me back to Lost? A Vincent flashback episode....

Yes, it would be chockful of Lab puppies.

Finally finished watching. (I feel asleep right after they found the car last night.) The first thing I thought of when it didn't turn over was that they should push it to jump start it. And, having had way too much experience jump starting VW Buses back in the day, I can say that they really didn't need that big a hill, nor did Hurley need to wait until the last second to pop the clutch. They were going plenty fast enough after the first twenty feet down the hill, even for an engine that hadn't been turned in twenty years or more. If anything, he should done it right away in case the first attempt didn't do it. For an engine in reasonable shape, he was going fast enough down that dirt road to jump it.

Still, I was rolling my eyes until they fell out at the thought that a WORKING CAR BATTERY would be best used for driving around in circles, as opposed to, I don't know, getting a RADIO working.

The car battery wasn't working at first. The starter didn't kick in at all when Hurley turned the key, which meant the battery was totally dead. It's the alternator (or possibly a generator if the VW Bus was old enough) that provides the electricity for the engine while it's running. The alternator also charges the battery while the engine is running, so the longer Hurley drives in circles, the better charged the battery will be.

Did anyone else get a Little Miss Sunshine vibe?

Obviously, it's Mr. Eko who took the vow of silence....

Actually I just watched the portion I had, and for a while I enjoyed the show again -- back to the characters whom I actually have some interest in, you see.

(My 1984 Honda Civic once got a push start in a parking lot, and didn't go much more than ten feet before it got enough spark going to kick over -- I was impressed. Of course, it hadn't been lying in the jungle on its side for however many years, but then, like VW Bugs as we know from Woody Allen movies, I guess those old buses will really last forever.)

Yeah, I had an old VW Jetta when I was in college that had a shot starter. I didn't replace it for months. Barely had to get it moving and pop her started. And this was Florida where inclines are not so easy to find.

I like Hurley being big man on island with his wheels and all.

They totally should have had a shot of the bus driving along with Vincent sticking his head out the window, ears flying back in the breeze. Good boy, Vincent!

'Lost' scribes ink overall deal:

"Lost" co-exec producers Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz have inked a mid-seven figure overall deal that will keep them on the ABC Television Studio island through 2010.

Three-year pact calls for the scribes to continue on "Lost," rising to exec producers by the second year of the deal. They'll also create and develop new projects for the studio.

If this means they won't have cancellation looming over them, I should probably quit watching the show now and just catch the last 3 episodes in 2010, when we can expect the big and totally unsatisfying ANSWERS.