Winter White Eeyore Is a Snowy Delight

In my room, I have a sizable collection of plush Winnie the Pooh characters. I bought most of them myself back in the good old days when Erie still had a Disney Store, but I received a few as gifts. One of those was the wintry Eeyore that was given to me by my friend Dan several Christmases ago. I think it is Eeyore's snarky remarks and pragmatic approach to life that make Dan a particular fan of this downcast donkey, but he is unusually cheerful here, and his snowy makeover suits him very well.

I don't think Eeyore was the only character to get a new look for Christmas that year, but because he is naturally bluish-gray anyway, the color scheme is ideal for him. He wears a powder blue sweater with a glittery white snowflake on the front, and upon his head is a matching Santa-style hat with white trim. Instead of his usual thunderhead-colored surface, he is bright white. A Velcro patch on his backside has his tail attached, but it comes on and off, while still being secured to Eeyore by some dark blue thread. The tail also has a blue bow on it, and the pupils in his eyes, as well as his eyebrows, are blue as well.

Obviously, this is a highly stylized Eeyore, and he really makes the most sense for winter. I have another one that has the traditional Eeyore appearance, but in December, this one is just so pretty. He's about nine inches high and nearly as big around; he sits up on his hind legs instead of standing on all fours. Hence, he has a pretty roly-poly appearance, and he's very huggable with that soft material and squishy stuffing. That's good, because Eeyore is a donkey who could really use more than his fair share of hugs.

The major drawback I see to this edition of Eeyore is that it's harder to keep him clean, since any stain is going to stand out against that pristine fur. This Eeyore is probably better for kids who are slightly older and will be more careful about not getting him dirty, though surface washing does help, and if you don't mind a dingy Eeyore it doesn't really matter in any case. Of course, there are no little kids in my house, just one big kid, and I think Winter White Eeyore is grand just the way he is. If you are looking for a cuddly plush pal or a way to add a touch of winter to your decorating scheme, you might just agree with me.

See the Light at Night With the Tangled Glimmer 'n' Glow Birthday Lantern

Two days before Thanksgiving last year, I saw Tangled, Disney’s first CGI fairy tale. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the animation style, but I was pleased to find that the movie still felt fully immersed in Disney enchantment and that the depth of animation only enhanced it. And then there was the lantern scene. I don’t think a single scene in a movie has so engrossed me since the Circle of Life trailer for The Lion King made my jaw drop. I’d enjoyed the movie up until that point, loving the humor, the action, the flirtation, the music, the great little nods to other classics… But then came the moment for which Rapunzel had waited the entire movie – indeed, her entire life. I wasn’t prepared for how thoroughly it would take my breath away.

In the scene, we witness the annual ritual of the king and queen leading their subjects in a ceremony in remembrance of the daughter who vanished from her crib as an infant. Flynn, Rapunzel’s traveling companion who isn’t quite the rapscallion he claims to be, doesn’t know that she is the lost princess, and neither does she, but he understands how much it means to her to be able to see these lanterns up close, so he secures a boat and rows her out to the middle of the lake over which the hundreds of lanterns are released. On a purely visual level, the spectacle of the lanterns is utterly gorgeous and could not have been so immersive or effective in traditional hand-drawn form. The scene absolutely glows, and like Rapunzel, whose eyes are as big as saucers, the audience can barely take it all in.

Then there’s the significance to the story. It’s a big moment for Rapunzel because she is achieving a lifelong dream and taking a step toward really understanding who she is. In the quiet moment before the ceremony begins, we witness the abiding love the king and queen still have for their daughter and understand that a reunion is imminent. This is emphasized nicely when we see a lantern come to her, and she lightly lifts it into the air; as it rises, it becomes apparent by the sun symbol upon it that this was the very lantern that her parents released. It’s about her finding herself.

But at the same time, Flynn is finding himself too, and as they come to a deeper understanding of themselves, each realizes how integral the other has been to developing that awareness. This, too, is beautifully symbolized as they simultaneously release a pair of lanterns and we watch them gradually rise, circling each other and remaining close together and clearly discernible amongst the multitude of surrounding lights on the water until they vanish into the distance.

While the song has been criticized for its similarities to A Whole New World, I See the Light impacted me much more, perhaps in part because Rapunzel and Flynn had been through more together at that point than Jasmine and Aladdin had. I can’t remember the last time I had such a strong reaction to a song in a film. For me, every element of the scene came together to create a movie moment of such perfection I don’t think I’ll ever forget the exact circumstances in which I saw it for the first time.

Given my great attachment to that scene, I kept an eye out for tie-in merchandise that somehow incorporated it, and several months later, I finally spotted something: the Glimmer ‘n’ Glow Birthday Lantern, an attractive plastic lantern that works as a musical projector. The plastic lantern is pale purple on the top and bottom, with a dark purple handle and a dark purple strip toward the bottom with gold accents. It’s on this strip that you will find the golden button, the circle in the middle of a sun, and when you press it, the music plays and the lantern lights up with a bit of a disco ball effect as little white and yellow balls zoom around the interior. The main portion of the lantern is a panoramic still from the scene, with lanterns emanating from the castle and moving out over the water. On the back, we see the castle by itself, while on the front, an image of Rapunzel and Flynn is superimposed so that the castle is in the background.

That’s my first issue with the lantern. Instead of showing the two of them in the rowboat, or at least the two of them in a genuinely romantic moment, we have Rapunzel fixing Flynn with a squinty stare that seems to say, “Don’t try anything, buster; I’ve got a frying pan, and I’m not afraid to use it.” Yes, she’s smiling, and their hands are touching; you might say it’s a flirtatious smile, but there’s just a touch too much aggression there to fit the moment. I’m glad the two of them are there; I just would have liked something that captured the feelings of wonder and contentment so prevalent in the scene.

The lantern is designed so that you can set it down flat or hang it somewhere, and there are little holes in the top portion so that the light can peek through. If you really want to see it, though, you need to remove the top portion of the lantern, leaving you just the base. To do this, you have to twist to the right and lift it off, which is fairly easy, though getting it back on again is a bit trickier. Now you’re left with nothing but a clear dome covered in circles. Turn off the light – it really doesn’t work unless it’s genuinely dark, so you really have to wait until nighttime to get the effect – and press the button. Yellow and white light combines as the dome spins, creating a very pretty effect. On demo mode, this will only last a few seconds, but flip it to “on,” and it will project indefinitely (until the batteries run out).

The big disappointment here is that there is no way to mute the music. Now, don’t get me wrong; I adore the song. But all you’re getting here is one line of melody. It’s purely instrumental, starting off with a nice fairy tale flourish reminiscent of the “please turn the page” sounds that populated so many of those Disney book-and-record sets I had growing up. The music is pretty, but as it only corresponds to a quarter of the chorus – “And at last I see the light, and it’s like the fog has lifted” – you really don’t want to listen to that on a loop all night. Well, maybe some kids won’t mind; goodness knows most toddlers have a much higher tolerance for repetition than the rest of us. But hearing the same little snippet over and over and over and over strikes me as a good way to get sick of a tune that currently ties with Candle on the Water as my favorite Disney love song ever. I don’t want that to happen. Unfortunately, that means I can’t leave the projector on and fall asleep to the sight of lanterns cruising around my room. I think that would make an excellent night light…

The lantern comes with three AAA batteries included. I’ve had mine about four months, and my batteries haven’t worn out, though the sound is starting to get a bit fuzzy. I’ve read reviews of it online, and apparently replacing the batteries presents another problem because the lantern was made in China and the batteries there are slightly smaller. Evidently you can get around this by taking a screwdriver and stretching the springs out a bit so that they connect with the American batteries, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t speak from experience there.

I don’t regret buying the Glimmer ‘n’ Glow Birthday Lantern, but it certainly doesn’t live up to the wonder of that scene. It’s a nice reminder, but I hope I eventually run across something that is a more impressive representation of that iconic moment.

Remember the 2010 Winter Olympics With Quatchi

Last February, I turned 29. On the day I went out for my birthday dinner, my mind was mostly occupied with thoughts of LOST, as the final season of my favorite TV series had begun the week before and I was busy trying to find ways to use that as a springboard for my own creativity. However, when we got home, we turned on the television to find the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics occurring, and I quickly got caught up in the excitement of this international event. While I’ve never been too attuned to sporting events in general, I love the spirit of intercultural communication and unity that pervades the Olympics. Yes, it’s a competition, but it’s also a time when it’s easy to feel a sense of kinship with people around the world as millions of eyes focus upon the same displays of athletic prowess. The world always feels a little smaller when I watch the Olympics.

The next day, a package arrived from my friend Cynthia, who lives in Toronto. I don’t recall discussing the impending Olympics with her ahead of time, but I opened the box to find it full of official gear. Because they were held in Vancouver, the Olympics were a matter of national pride throughout Canada, and I appreciated Cynthia’s thoughtfulness in making me feel more fully a part of the festivities. For the rest of the winter, I could often be seen wearing an ice-blue scarf and matching hat with flaps that cozily covered my ears, both bearing the emblem of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Along with these practical items, I also got a plush Quatchi, the irresistible mascot of the 2010 games.

Quatchi is meant to be a Sasquatch, though he doesn’t look much like a traditional Bigfoot to me, at least the one I have. He’s a cuddly little butterball, almost perfectly round with arms that dangle at his sides. His hands are beige; he seems to be wearing mittens. Meanwhile, he appears to be wearing boots, which are striped in alternating shades of brown. On the left boot is the 2010 Olympics symbol. The bottoms of the boots are a lighter brown and ridged like corduroy. Aside from the hands and boots, the only part of Quatchi that is smooth is his face, which stretches across the middle front of his head and is just large enough to accommodate a thick black smile and two black eyes, as far apart as they can get, and a shiny brown plastic nose.

The rest of Quatchi is covered in shaggy brown hair about the shade of the titular alien on the campy 1980s TV series ALF. Just underneath his chin is a tuft of hair that is more beige in color, but otherwise the hair is uniformly medium brown. Quatchi’s fur is incredibly soft, as is whatever he is stuffed with. The tag indicates that he is made up of polyester fibers. There’s variation in the textures of this little guy, particularly when you factor in the crystal blue earmuffs resting atop his head, but he is 100 percent snuggly.

I only wish he were a bit bigger. At seven and a half inches tall, he’s a little larger than your average Tribble, a wheat-eating furball that causes Captain Kirk oodles of headaches in a classic Star Trek episode. That smaller size makes him an ideal desktop decoration, but he’s so cuddly that he’d make a great substitute for a teddy bear if he were maybe four times the size he is now. That would also make him look more Bigfootish, I imagine; right now he’s more of a Littlefoot. But whatever his size, he sure is cute with that soft fur, the arms that seem to be begging for a hug and the understated but expansive grin that exudes friendliness. The 2010 Winter Olympics are long over now, but Quatchi serves as a welcome reminder of that great moment in Vancouver history.

Bif Bang Pow!'s Bobblehead Sawyer Is Bent On Revenge

One of my favorite characters in the LOST universe is Sawyer, the smart-mouthed Southern grifter who comes to the Island a snarly every-man-for-himself kind of guy and emerges a hero. I love Sawyer not because of his seductive tendencies and certainly not because he always seems to be packin’ heat. Sawyer is among my favorites because of his sharp wit and, more importantly, because he’s the first major character to shed his antagonistic traits in a big way. Granted, the process of becoming selfless and forgiving is a painful one that takes six seasons to come to fruition, but his progress is fairly steady over the course of the show. You can imagine, then, that I wasn’t thrilled to see Bif Bang Pow! choose to depict Sawyer right smack dab in the middle of an act of revenge.

Sawyer, like the rest of the bobbleheads in the series, stands about seven inches tall, including the base, which is round and uneven. It’s made to look like he’s standing on dirt, with a patch of dry grass toward the back. On the front, it simply says “Sawyer;” there is little consistency among these bobbleheads in terms of capitalization of letters, but all of the other figures mention the last name as well as the first. More consistent is the “LOST” on the back of the base.

This figure captures a moment in the season one episode Outlaws in which Sawyer has just come face to face with the man he believes is responsible for his parents’ financial ruination and, by extension, demise. While he has spent his entire adult life running cons on people, killing someone is not as easy as he anticipates, and it takes a heart-to-heart with a similarly broken man in a bar to muster his resolve. What we see here is the instant before he pulls the trigger.

Sawyer stands tall, wearing dark gray shoes and gray jeans. Barely visible is a white shirt under an open black leather jacket. His blue eyes glare out from under arched eyebrows and a head of wavy hair. The five-o’clock shadow around his chin and upper lip make him look all the more menacing. His left hand clutches a black gun pointed dead ahead, while in his right, which rests at his side, he holds the letter he wrote the day of his parents’ funeral – the one that pledges fatal retribution to the man who destroyed his family. We can’t actually tell that from the figure; it’s just a bunch of squiggly lines. But the paper’s significance should be obvious to anyone who knows Sawyer’s backstory.

It’s a pretty good likeness for Sawyer, but he looks so darn mean. Sawyer did, of course, have mean-looking moments, and this was one of them, though the bobble action serves to underscore his mixed feelings about his mission on this occasion when killing is still new to him. Sawyer goes on to be one of the most trigger-happy characters on the show, and while his handiness with firearms sometimes is convenient – particularly when polar bears are charging – the fact remains that this figure accentuates one of the least appealing aspects of his personality, one that he spends six seasons gradually overcoming.

Sawyer is one of the most prominent and popular characters on the show, and I suspect that he is among the best-selling of the bobbleheads. I just wish that whoever was responsible for coming up with this design had chosen a different emphasis.

Get a Little Arzt on Your Shelf With the Dr. Leslie Arzt Bobblehead

It’s Independence Day, and all around my neighborhood, small displays of fireworks are going off. The bright bursts of color are exuberant and entertaining, not at all like the explosions of dynamite that make such a startling impression at various points in the series of LOST. Probably the most memorable of these instances occurs at the end of the first season, when Dr. Leslie Arzt, annoying high school science teacher, tries to show Jack and his crew how to properly handle the delicate sticks.

Perpetually whiny Dr. Arzt is probably the most random character yet to get the Bif Bang Pow! bobblehead treatment. Having appeared in just seven episodes and two mobisodes, with appearances in some episodes limited to just a few minutes, Arzt is not exactly a starring character. Essentially, despite the actual color of his clothing, he is a red-shirt, a character introduced for the main purpose of being expendable, but he is more memorable than most of those minor characters, and that dynamite is a big part of the reason why.

Being a stickler for detail, I should note that the dynamite on the bobblehead looks a lot more stable than the stuff on the actual show. Arzt stands atop a square wooden platform with his name on the front, and in front of him is a crate with the word “EXPLOSIVES” emblazoned on it. Inside are neat stacks of red dynamite sticks. On LOST, they ooze grotesquely, making for a much messier sight. Additionally, Arzt simply holds a stick of dynamite in his hands, which he expressly tells Jack not to do, so it’s not an entirely accurate representation of his heroic but unfortunate efforts. Still, for the purposes of the bobblehead, it probably makes more sense to show him this way.

Arzt has a rather smug look on his pudgy face, which is caked with dirt. His white striped button-up shirt and gray pants are pretty filthy too. Tromping around in the jungle will do that, though I think this is mainly meant to allude to what happens to Arzt next, since there wouldn’t really be a proper way to show that in this type of figure unless it arrived in pieces – which my first bobblehead actually did. I sent for a replacement, though I was tempted to keep the damaged one because it just seemed so fitting for the figure.

Like the others in this series, Arzt stands about seven inches tall. While the dynamite that accompanies his most memorable moment on the show is the focal point, a spider rests on the edge of the base, which is a nice nod to the entomological expertise he shares in the quirky season three episode focusing on two of the show’s most reviled characters. Reminders of his role in season one and three resurface in season six’s Dr. Linus, my favorite episode of the series, in which he makes his final appearance and at last we get to see him in action, sort of, in the high school environment.

Poor Dr. Arzt. Stuck teaching rudimentary biology to students who couldn’t care less when his advanced degree indicates that he is over-qualified for the position. Always getting on the nerves of those around him, even ever-patient Hurley. Flying all the way to Australia to meet his online flame, only to discover the peril of posting his hunky friend’s photo on the Internet and passing it off as his own. And then there’s the small matter of what happens when he gives his impromptu dynamite safety lecture. Some guys just can’t catch a break.

When I saw that Arzt had gotten the bobblehead treatment, all I could do was laugh. With what this poor fellow went through, doggone it, he should get a bobblehead. And since his head is extra-large, it’s especially suited to bobbling. I can’t help wondering now whether uber-red-shirt Neil, better known as Frogurt, will be making his way into this format next. Neither is what I would call an essential purchase for the casual fan, but if you’re one of those oddballs who have spent as much time with these characters as I have, I suspect you will find the lugubrious Leslie difficult to resist.

Relive LOST's Pilot Episode With Bif Bang Pow!'s Jack Shephard and Vincent

Back when McFarlane released its first line of LOST action figures, I bought the company’s rendition of Jack Shephard, arguably the show’s central character, for my friend Libbie for her birthday. I didn’t nab one for myself, though, partly because I figured as long as one of us had him that was enough, partly because I never really latched onto Jack until season six, and I was never more frustrated with him than I was during season three, when that figure came out. Maybe someday I’ll buy that Jack from eBay, but the Bif Bang Bow! bobblehead version is so similar that doing so would probably feel redundant. If only the bobblehead came equipped with a sound chip like the action figure, I’d be all set.

This version of Jack, like the McFarlane version, captures him in the early moments of the series premiere. Dressed in a sharp-looking black suit with black tie askew over his white button-up shirt, Jack sports a five-o’clock shadow and a bleeding wound on each cheek. He doesn’t look too concerned about that; he’s a doctor, and he’s used to ignoring his own pain as he tries to fix the injuries of others. His mouth is set in an expression of grim determination, and his eyes seem filled with steely resolve.

Like the other bobbleheads in this collection – except Hurley, who’s taller because he’s wearing a safari hat – Jack stands about seven inches tall, including the base upon which he is situated. That base is sandy-colored, as we’re supposed to be seeing Jack on the beach, and it’s circular and tall enough to leave room for “Jack Shephard” to be spelled out in large white letters on the front. Letters of that same style appear on the back as well, spelling out “LOST.” Surrounding Jack on the base are several remnants of the plane crash, and standing beside him is Vincent, the yellow lab who came on the plane with Walt, the lone kid in LOST’s first season whose disappearance from the show after that point – aside from the very occasional guest appearance – frustrated fans.

Vincent is the first survivor Jack meets after arriving on the Island, and that brief but important encounter finds an echo late in the series, giving the two characters a powerful bond. It’s nice to see the show’s Most Valuable Canine honored in this way, though the fact that his name does not appear on the base suggests that he is more of a prop than a living, breathing character, and that is definitely not the case. While he only appears in about a third of the episodes, he makes several significant contributions to the events of the Island. His likeness here is a tad generic, with fully black eyes and hindquarters that are sort of fused with the large piece of wreckage at the back of the base. Still, it’s recognizably Vincent, and no one who watched the series regularly will be in any doubt as to who the dog is and why he is there.

Jack’s head bobbles a lot or a little, depending on how forcefully his head is nudged. The mild bobble seems more suited to the personality of this emotionally guarded physician, but it can be fun to see him wobble away like a jittery sycophant. The motion is just a fun added bonus, though. While Jack is not my favorite bobblehead of the bunch, he is certainly a character that many fans would like to capture. Of course, those who are that fond of Jack will probably already have him in some form, as not only McFarlane but several other companies have come out with renditions of this leader of the ragtag band of Oceanic 815 castaways. Still, this version of Jack has about as much to recommend it as others do, and it only costs about $13, plus shipping; as far as I know, no brick-and-mortar stores stock these bobbleheads, but they are available from ABC’s online LOST store and the catalog Entertainment Earth.

It took me a long time to fully warm up to Jack, but now I consider him one of my favorite characters, and the inclusion of Vincent makes this bobblehead all the more appealing. Like Ben Linus and Daniel Faraday, the first members of my bobbly LOST menagerie, Jack plays the piano, so he’s right at home atop my weathered Lester, and when I play Michael Giacchino’s iconic Life and Death theme, it’s a pleasure to see him wobbling ever so slightly in approval. Are you suffering from LOST withdrawal? The Jack and Vincent bobblehead may be just what the doctor ordered.

Liven Up Your Computer Desk With Bif Bang Pow!'s Desmond Hume Bobblehead

Back in 2008, I heard the exciting news that McFarlane was planning a third line of LOST action figures, and it would include Desmond Hume, the frazzled Scotsman at the heart of what is widely considered to be the show’s most epic love story. That’s only one part of what makes Desmond such an appealing character, but I feel certain that the McFarlane figure would have alluded to it, either in the background of the figure’s base, the special prop included with the figure or one of the sound clips accessible at a touch of the button on the base. Unfortunately, due to lack of interest and lack of awareness – the figures received very little marketing and a lot of fans didn’t even know they existed until the fifth season, when they were featured in LOST Untangled, a series of goofy videos promoting the show – the line of action figures was cancelled after only ten figures and one play set. I never got my Desmond action figure, but thanks to Bif Bang Pow!, I do have a Desmond bobblehead.

The most disappointing thing about this Desmond right off the bat is that these bobbleheads do not have sound chips. Some of Desmond’s appeal is simply the musicality of his accent, and we get no hint of that here. The figure also fails to include any sort of reference to Penny Widmore, the love of his life. Granted, this might have been a bit complicated to incorporate, but it could have been done. Perhaps a copy of Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend, the book containing the letter in which Penny reassures Desmond of her undying love, could have been resting atop the disk drive. Or we could have gotten Desmond in the penultimate scene of The Constant, with a full shaggy beard, a bright blue shirt and an enormous smile, and in the background a bright red telephone. However, the sculptor decided to focus on Desmond as we first see him, stuck in a bunker punching numbers in a computer. (Actually showing the numbers on the computer screen would have been a nice touch too, but this bobblehead doesn’t fare so well in the intimate detail department.)

Desmond stands on a neat square base. It’s flat and dark gray, the same color as the computer desk that takes up half the space upon it. The top of the desk is off-white, and the computer and disk drive are mostly off-white as well, with gray accents. The front of the base has “DESMOND HUME” in raised white letters, while the back shows the word “LOST.” The angle is such that the back of the computer desk rests between these two sides. Hence, we’re seeing Desmond at a side glance, which is a little odd, but it works.

At a quick glance, a fan would definitely be able to tell that this is supposed to be Desmond. His hands hover over the keyboard, and he stares ahead of him. He wears brown shoes and a khaki jumpsuit with a Dharma Swan station patch on his chest. On his face is a stubbly beard and mustache, and his brown hair is wavy and almost shoulder-length. His eyes are deep brown, and his mouth is set in an enigmatic smile. Frankly, he looks a little too serene to be the crazed man who introduces himself by holding a gun to John Locke’s head; the expression seems more in line with what we see from him throughout much of season six. Still, I’m sure that Desmond did have a peaceful moment or two during his time as doomsday computer attendant.

The costume and the setting make this unmistakably Desmond, but of all the bobbleheads that have been produced thus far, I think that the likeness here is the least exact. For one thing, Desmond is a swarthy guy, and here, his skin tone is much too pale. For another, his facial structure just doesn’t quite seem to capture the essence of Desmond. I don’t get a sense of his personality when I look at it, and I don’t think his face looks all that much like Henry Ian Cusick. It’s passable, but since Desmond is one of my very favorite characters, I was hoping for something a little more precise.

I still think it’s a great bobblehead, and I’m glad to have a Desmond figure of some kind to make up for the lack of one from McFarlane. With that company’s attention to detail, I suspect the action figure would have been much more exact, and being able to hear some of his famous quotes in that Scottish accent would have helped it to seem more fully Desmond. Nonetheless, this is Desmond at an important junction in the show, and because of the computer, it’s one of the largest in the collection, so it stands out and would look great on a computer desk. Whenever you are feeling frustrated with the headaches your computer is giving you, you can look up at Desmond and just be grateful that you can leave your terminal for more than 108 minutes at a time without having to worry about the world imploding. Kinda takes the pressure off, doesn’t it?

Bif Bang Pow! Honors Chicken Magnate Hurley - Make That Hugo - Reyes

Today marks the release of Hurley, the latest album by Weezer, which features Jorge Garcia’s smiling face on the cover. I was thinking about that when my brother suddenly veered from his traditional birthday dinner plans last night, suggesting we go to Outback Steakhouse instead of Red Lobster. There’s a goofy moment in the two-hour premiere of LOST’s sixth season in which we overhear the Sideways version of Hurley, owner of the Mr. Cluck’s Chicken Franchise, agitatedly discussing the possibility of litigation involving his new Australia-inspired chicken meals, with the implication that Outback isn’t too pleased with his new ad campaign. We don’t get to actually see the ad campaign on the show, but we hear it referenced and see him in costume in posters around the restaurant, so now I can’t help linking Hurley with the Outback. Apparently neither could whoever designed the Hurley bobblehead from Bif Bang Pow!

After I bought the Ben bobblehead released last year and the Richard, Daniel and Dr. Chang bobbleheads released this year, I hoped that more would follow, so I was glad to catch wind of the new series, of which Hurley is the last. However, I was a bit perplexed by his appearance. Hurley is one of the most iconic characters in LOST, but it’s not because of his Chicken Shack. It seems a little odd to model him after his Sideways incarnation, especially when the commercial this bobblehead references only aired at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. Granted, anyone who’s a big enough fan to buy this bobblehead has probably already watched the ad on Youtube, but this certainly isn’t Hurley as we usually saw him.

What’s more, as Garcia himself pointed out on his blog months ago, no one ever refers to Mr. Reyes as Hurley, including himself. In his life as a placid fried chicken magnate, Hurley is always “Hugo,” so it seems that the name on the front of the base should read “Hugo Reyes” instead of “Hurley Reyes”. Still, LOST is a television show about a group of people who crash on an Island en route from Sydney, so depicting Hurley in his Outback garb is a nice way to nod at that continent’s importance to the show.

Like the other LOST bobbleheads, Hurley is about seven inches tall from the top of his head to the bottom of the base. Unlike the others, however, Hurley wears a hat, which adds a couple of inches to his height. In terms of girth, owning a fried chicken franchise seems to have worked wonders for his figure; he’s robust but far trimmer than either of his action figure counterparts.

Hurley stands on a square black base with his name on the front and “LOST” on the back, both in white. The top of the base features a black and white checkered pattern, though oddly, the pattern is sustained in the back four rows but not in the front one. The front portion of the top of the base also features a red banner of sorts that has a picture of the Mr. Cluck’s smiling chicken head on the left and the words “Mr. CLUCK’S CHICKEN SHACK” on the right. A similar chicken head that faces the opposite direction appears on the pocket of Hurley’s shirt. Of course, I’m sure he would be happier not to end up on someone’s plate, but humane Hugo does go out of his way to say that Mr. Cluck’s uses free-range chickens. This was the chicken I thought would be gracing the “free” keychain that ABC used to lure me into purchasing my bobblehead from the official LOST store; alas, what I got was a scary-looking naked rubber chicken that appears to be an egg-laying zombie rooster. But I digress...

Hurley is quite dapper all dressed for an Outback adventure. He looks like he conquered the walkabout John Locke intended to take and is now a master of his own destiny. “On a recent vacation to Australia, I had a dream while camping under the stars of the Outback,” he says on that obscure commercial. “A dream... of chicken.” Well, we all have different dreams, I suppose. At least the new meals are healthier (roasted instead of fried), and he uses the profits from his franchise to fund numerous charitable causes. While the smile on his face would not be expansive enough to earn bobblehead Hurley a spot on the cover of Weezer’s new album, it’s clear that he’s content.

Hurley wears mid-tone brown boots, grayish khaki pants and a dark brown button-up shirt that matches his Outback hat, which has a wide brim and a mid-tone brown strap with white stripes. His hair is thick, wavy and not quite shoulder length, and he has a thin mustache and a short but extensive beard that covers the lower portion of his face and extends to the area of his ears, which are invisible behind his hair. His left arm rests at his side, holding a boomerang, while his right is bent as he clings to the didgeridoo slung over his shoulder with some thick rope. I have serious doubts as to whether good ol’ fun-time Hurley would have the dexterity to properly use either of these, but Sideways Hurley isn’t nearly so bumbling, so maybe he managed to get the knack. More likely, he just thought they looked cool... and they do!

The brim of the hat is handy because all you need to do is tap it, and Hurley’s head will begin to bobble. Because of that hat, he’s the tallest bobblehead in the collection, and I don’t see that distinction being threatened anytime soon, since headgear of any kind showed up very rarely on LOST. While I get the impression that Bif Bang Pow! intends for the line to continue, I haven’t heard any word on what characters might be next, but I’m very glad that Hurley got the bobblehead treatment. Or at least Hugo did.

No One Pulls Off An Orange-Peel Grin Like John Locke - Now In Bobblehead Form!

I hate to think that I have too many things in common with Dwight Schrute, the uber-eccentric beet farmer / assistant manager on The Office who seems to thrive on making his coworkers’ lives difficult, but I can come up with at least two odd interests that we share. We’re both fans of LOST, and we both have a peculiar fondness for bobbleheads. So while I have yet to see a character from my dearly departed favorite drama bobbing along on Dwight’s desk, I have to suspect that he would approve of the John Locke bobblehead just released from Bif Bang Pow!

John is the sixth LOST character to get the bobblehead treatment, and like his predecessors, he stands seven inches high. I’ve designated the piano as my bobblehead display area of choice, so to the left, I have the trio released in February, along with the shifty Ben Linus from last summer, and John and Claire stand apart from the others on the right. This feels fitting, considering that not only is John the only one of the bobblehead characters to have interacted much with Claire (save Hurley, who hasn‘t been released yet), he took a rather intense interest in her for about a season, serving as a protector for her and her baby, Aaron. That role came to be subverted in the sixth season, but as that’s not really John’s fault, I prefer not to dwell on that too much.

LOST is largely a character study, and very few characters underwent as many strange twists and turns as John. I find it interesting that while the other two bobbleheads in this second wave of 2010 depict characters in their season six states, this one takes us back to the very beginning of the show. John has always been a character who fascinated me more than most, so I knew I’d have to snag him for my collection no matter what he looked like, but I burst into delighted laughter the moment I saw what this bobblehead would look like.

John Locke, so expertly portrayed by the amazingly expressive Terry O’Quinn, has taken part in many of the show’s most iconic moments, but all these years later, one of my favorites remains the tiny scene from the epic pilot episode in which renegade Kate looks up from her distasteful task of swiping the boots off a fallen passenger to see John’s slowly widening smile. In his mouth is a slice of orange, with the orange peel facing out so that she sees only the peel instead of his teeth.

It’s a wonderful moment that reveals so much about John with a tiny gesture. First off, we see that he is resilient and self-sufficient, as he has procured an orange and neatly excised a slice with his knife, an instrument which will come to be strongly associated with him. Second, it shows that he has a sense of humor. While John is one of the most tragic characters in the series, many of his lines and gestures are subtly funny, especially as acted by O’Quinn. Despite his darker qualities and unfortunate past, John is one of the characters who most consistently makes me laugh.

At the same time, it establishes him as someone who tries to help and encourage others. Though he sometimes strays wildly from this role, season one finds him taking every opportunity he can to mentor his fellow castaways, some of whom react to him with as much disdain as Kate does in this scene. That’s largely because there’s just something very strange about John Locke. Most of the people around him sense that there’s something just a little off about him, and it’s hard to dispute that when he’s sporting a big orange grin and has a long scar running along the right side of his face, punctuated by his eye. Creases and wrinkles in his forehead and cheeks and around his eyes accentuate both his age and his joie de vivre.

I’m so glad that whoever designed this bobblehead chose this moment to capture. It’s quintessential John, and the figure brings that across perfectly. We’ve got John Locke, standing tall on a vaguely round base that looks like a patch of sand, grinning out at the world with a beneficent, albeit slightly crazed, smile. This is a John renewed, thrilled to finally find himself in a place that feels like home and to be freed of the painful restrictions so unfairly placed upon him. No matter how many times he stumbles in the episodes that follow, some hint of this euphoric beginning is always evident.

The words “John Locke” stand out in white with black trim along the front of the base, while “LOST” is written across the back. John wears shiny black shoes, or perhaps boots, with thick soles but no hint of laces. His pants are khaki, while his checked button-up shirt is pale blue. His left arm rests at his side, with his hand clutching the knife that he has just used. His right arm is bent at the elbow so that the orange he holds in his open palm rests right around the middle of his shirt. The skin tone on his arms and head is natural, if perhaps a bit on the light side; then again, I’ve grown used to seeing him tan from months out in the hot sun.

Because John is bald, his ears stand out much more prominently than those on any of the other bobbleheads. They seem to have a slightly Elven quality about them when I look at them from a distance, though upon close inspection they are more curved than pointed. Whatever their shape, they stick out usefully; just give one of them a little tap, and John’s head will start to jiggle.

John is the first character in this series to also have been a part of the McFarlane toy line that, sadly, ended prematurely a couple years ago. Those incredibly detailed figures also came with sound chips, and that spoiled me a bit. That said, it would be a little strange to hear John speaking when he clearly has his mouth full of fruit. Though he’s harder to come by these days, I do heartily recommend the McFarlane John Locke action figure for its intricate details, its poseability and its quotes from the show. I’m still amused whenever a push of a button causes a resounding Terry O’Quinn snarl of “DON’T EVER TELL ME WHAT I CAN’T DO! EVER!!”

I’m less impressed with what I’ve seen of the new action figure forthcoming from Bif Bang Pow! It’s not nearly as detailed, and the hinges look extremely clunky. What’s more, you have to buy him with Hurley, and though I would suspect that any big fan of the show wouldn’t mind that in theory, this Hurley is downright funny-looking. It makes me sad that these figures look so much less like their on-screen counterparts than the McFarlane figures, mostly because there’s a set featuring Jacob and his nemesis, as depicted in the opening scene of the season five finale. Those are two characters I’d love to have, but the resemblance just isn’t strong enough for me, especially when it comes to the Man in Black; if I could purchase Jacob separately, I might be seriously tempted to buy him.

All this is to say that while there are other versions of John available, one of which is well worth having, I still heartily recommend the Bif Bang Pow! bobblehead, which retails for $13 at Entertainment Earth or $15 at ABC’s LOST store. This is a fun and finely crafted figure capturing one of his most iconic scenes; of all the figures in the series thus far, I think it does the best job of giving us a specific character-revealing moment.

John Locke is a hardy fellow, but he’s certainly not invincible; by the same token, this resin figure may become cracked if you’re not careful with him. He does come in a large box with molded plastic so that he can be moved safely, and of course, you can keep him in the box at all times if you prefer, though given John’s long, ugly history with boxes both on and off the Island, this seems rather cruel. I’ll take my chances with keeping him on the piano, in easy sight of the kitchen. If anything ever mysteriously disappears from the fruit bowl, I know who my prime suspect will be...

Claire Littleton and Her Squirrel Baby Make a Spooky Sight

Despite my desire to watch LOST when it began airing, I wound up coming into the series a little late to the party, so I already knew a bit about a few of the characters. I knew Jack was the hero, Charlie was the junkie and John was the mystic, and thanks to my friend Dan, I also knew about Claire, the unwed mother-to-be whose praises he sang frequently.

Back in those days, she was a sweet, altruistic 21-year-old whose commitment-shy boyfriend had ditched her midway through her pregnancy. Her season one contributions included sorting through luggage to return missing items to fellow castaways and organizing a memorial service for those who died in the initial plane crash. But season one also included her abduction and then, after she returned and gave birth, the short-lived kidnapping of her newborn baby. Her first couple of months on the Island were hardly a picnic. And then, three seasons later, she vanished into the jungle, leaving her baby behind her, never to be seen again until season six.

The Claire that emerged in the sixth season was quite a different character than the one audiences had come to know and love over the course of four seasons, and this is the version of Claire that Bif Bang Pow! chose to honor with the Claire bobblehead, sold at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con and various online retailers.

This is a Claire Gone Wild, a blonde version of “crazy French chick” Danielle Rousseau, complete with missing-baby issues and extreme paranoia about the Others that manifests itself in the form of elaborate traps. I wonder how Emilie De Ravin feels about being immortalized in this manner; she’s lookin’ pretty rough. On the other hand, I would imagine that this version of Claire may have been especially challenging for her to portray, so maybe she likes the reminder of her acting accomplishment.

Like the other bobbleheads in this series, Claire stands about seven inches high. She’s pretty realistic-looking, aside from having a slightly enlarged head. She wears black, heavy-duty shoes, khaki pants, a light blue tank top and an open turquoise and white checkered button-up shirt. Slung over her shoulder is her trusty rifle. Her eyes are blue and stare ahead, looking slightly crazed; her mouth carries the faintest hint of a smile. Claire’s skin is a light flesh tone, but it is darkened by streaks of mud, and her clothes, especially the checkered shirt, have a very dingy look about them. So does her matted hair, which is pulled behind her head in a ponytail that makes a good handle to pull if you want to set her head bobbin’. Of course, you can always just tap her on the head too.

Each of the bobbleheads stands on a base with the name of the character in raised letters on the front and “LOST” on the back. Claire is different from the first four in that her base is vaguely circular instead of square. Gray and rocky at the bottom, it has a grassy expanse on top, and three large leaves surround her feet. Of all the bases thus far, it’s the most natural-looking.

The most unusual feature of this particular bobblehead is the object that Claire cradles in her arms. Affectionately referred to by fans as “Squirrel Baby,” this freakish doll is composed of stitched-together pelts and has a gas mask over a boar’s skull for a head. On the show, we never see her holding it, and I’m not entirely sure it would stay in one piece if somebody picked it up out of its dusty cradle. But here it looks thoroughly solid, and if it weren’t for the gas mask, it would almost be cute. Certainly it resembles a person more than Wilson the volleyball ever did, but while moviegoers generally seemed to warm to Wilson pretty quickly, Squirrel Baby is a poor reviled little thing. He grosses out everyone except for the woman who created him to serve as a poor substitute for the child she lost.

My standard complaint with these bobbleheads is that they are not designed in such a way that the character can “talk,” which is one of the reasons my Spock bobblehead is so fun. Claire stands entirely silent, but in her case, that’s probably a good thing; anything that she would have to say would probably sound creepy or shrill. I don’t really want to be subjected to random shrieks of “Where’s my baby????”

Claire arrived in a box with a note indicating that she is not a toy and should be kept away from young children. That’s because these bobbleheads are quite breakable, as I learned when my Richard Alpert and Pierre Chang bobbleheads came to me in pieces. They were replaced promptly, so I didn’t care that much, but it taught me to be extremely careful with them. As long as you display them someplace where they are unlikely to be tampered with by pets or small children, they should hold up very well.

Claire, like last year’s Ben Linus, is slightly more expensive than the others because she is a Comic Con “exclusive”. Last summer, I thought that meant that you could only get Ben at Comic Con, which led me to overpay for him when he popped up on eBay; I later learned that Entertainment Earth was selling him for $17. Claire costs $15 there, while the others are $13. The ABC store is another good place to find them, though they cost a couple dollars more and Ben and Claire are not available.

So far, Claire is the only female LOST character to get the bobblehead treatment. I’m hoping that others will follow; I, for one, would especially like Rose and Ilana. While they are somewhat minor characters, the decision to include Pierre Chang gives me hope that anybody who appeared in a handful of episodes might have a shot. Till then, Claire may be outnumbered, but if Ben or any of the other guys tries to mess with her, something tells me she can handle herself.

The Mini Chicken N' Egg Keychain Does Not Represent Hugo or LOST Well

Last week, I received an e-mail from ABC’s LOST store informing me that anyone who purchased an item would, while supplies last, receive a free Mr. Cluck’s keychain. For those who haven’t watched LOST, this is the name of the fried chicken franchise owned by Hugo, otherwise known as Hurley, the show’s lovable, unassuming millionaire. As Hugo is probably my favorite character on the show and I’d already been planning to buy his bobblehead anyway, I decided to go ahead and bite. I put in my order, and then I put it out of my mind, since the bobbleheads don’t actually come out for another month or so.

But a few days later, I received a box in the mail. It was a box of a fairly decent size, nearly as big as a shoebox, but it contained one tiny keychain of about three inches in length, two inches from wingtip to wingtip. After I’d rolled my eyes over the excessive packaging, I examined my acquisition. I must not have been paying proper attention, since I was under the impression that this keychain would feature the Mr. Cluck’s logo of a smiling yellow chicken head, probably on a flat metal keychain. After all, the store sells Mr. Cluck’s t-shirts, and this is the design they use. If there was a picture of what the actual keychain looked like, I missed it.

So I was surprised when I realized that my chicken keychain had no specific connection to LOST. Instead, it came with a generic tag that reads “Mini Chicken n’ Egg Backpack Clip”. What’s more, aside from yellow coloring, this chicken bears no resemblance to the Mr. Cluck’s chicken.

This little bird is a three-dimensional, rubbery creature suspended from a metal chain with a clip on the end. It has a small red comb and wattle; I would take it to be a rooster, except that it has a strange mechanism whereby you squeeze the middle and a vaguely egg-like bubble pushes through a hole between the chicken’s legs. Depending on the angle at which it is pushed, this egg appears either yellow or milky white. I didn’t discover this feature immediately, and I initially found it rather novel, but upon further thought, it struck me as gross.

The chicken also features gangly, bright red feet that stick straight out, and there’s a reddish line going down the front, along with reddish coloring on the puny wings and tail. On its head is a pair of bright blue eyes with black dots for pupils. For the most part, though, this chicken is yellow, and it is covered in tiny bumps. It’s clammy to the touch; there are no feathers in sight, so this is evidently a dead chicken that has retained the skill of egg-laying. A zombie chicken, I suspect, which I suppose is appropriate for the final season of LOST, which has often been jokingly referred to as The Zombie Season. But I sure hope this stringy, undead, thoroughly hideous chicken is not indicative of what goes into Hugo’s chicken buckets. Gotta tell you, dude, that’s pretty poor advertising.

To top it all off, I noticed the other day that a two-dollar charge for this “free LOST keychain” had turned up on my card. I didn’t even request the chicken; I would imagine that some people would have gotten to check-out without realizing that this was a part of their order. Had I known that I would be charged an extra two dollars so they could unnecessarily ship it early, and had I realized that this keychain was so ugly that I would almost pay someone to take it off my hands, I certainly would have bought my bobble from Entertainment Earth instead. That’s what I get for being seduced by “freebies”. But that’s a complaint with the ABC store, not the manufacturer of this tiny terror.

If you know someone who has an irrational fear of chickens, perhaps this would make a morbid gag gift. Otherwise, I can’t recommend it, and certainly not for the going rate of nearly $4.50. If you hope to have a “cluckity-cluck day,” I suggest you seek out the company of more sophisticated fowl.

Let Richard Alpert Serve As Your Island Guide

“What lies in the shadow of the statue?” This is one of the most important question introduced in season five of LOST. Richard Alpert has the answer. In case you missed it in the season finale, you can consult his bobblehead, where the correct response is all spelled out for you in thin black letters atop a jungle-print base with the enigmatic character’s name on the front. The five all-important words: “Ille qui nos omnes servabit.” Which is very helpful if you happen to speak Latin. If you don’t, some further investigation is warranted...

I know what lies in the shadow of the statue. But that’s all I’ll say on the matter. Now, allow me to discuss the beauteous specimen that is Richard Alpert, the soft-spoken, rarely rattled, apparently ageless Other who was first introduced in the third season. Back then, though he seemed all politeness and decency, I was wary of him. After all, he was teamed up with Ethan, who also seemed pretty affable, and we all know what kind of shenanigans he got up to back on the Island. Mostly, though, I got the sense that he orchestrated Juliet’s ex-husband getting hit by a bus. And while he was obnoxious, I can’t condone those sorts of persuasive tactics.

I’m not sure now whether Richard caused the accident, but even if he did, I have ultimately decided to put my trust in this advisor who seems to know a lot more about what’s going on than almost anybody else on the Island, though this may not actually be the case. In his various appearances over the seasons, he has shown himself again and again to be reasonable and diplomatic, only resorting to violence when he deems it unavoidable - and not having the power to veto bad decisions his leaders might make. I applaud Nestor Carbonell for helping ensure that Richard’s story is one of the most compelling mysteries to be solved in season six. My understanding is that the show will shed some light soon. I can hardly wait.

Richard, it would appear, is a Man of Faith, to an even greater degree than John Locke. At the same time, he has been known to manipulate various characters over the years, particularly when he suggested to John that he have Sawyer kill Anthony Cooper. It seems that he’s probably given as many nudges in a particular direction as almost anyone on the show. But I don’t think that makes him a bad guy. In this bobblehead, he stands with a torch in hand, which brings to mind notions of illumination and, for me, of angels. Richard, I think, occupies a similar role in the show’s mythology.

Including the base, he stands nearly seven inches tall. He wears dark brown shoes, light brown pants and a gray button-up shirt, along with a brown belt. He rather resembles an outback adventurer. Actually, come to think of it, he kinda looks like Survivor host Jeff Probst, standing there with one arm at his side, another carrying the torch aloft - ready to banish someone from the Island?

Nestor’s arresting eyes have inspired much debate among viewers since his first appearance. They are so heavily lidded that it looks as though he is wearing eyeliner. Could he be? According to Entertainment Weekly, no. But boy, does he have distinctive eyes, and distilled into a mildly cartoonish three-dimensional figure, Richard almost looks like he picked up a trick pair of binoculars and hasn’t bothered to wash off the resulting ink yet. His hair is neat, his eyebrows are thick, and his face wears a placid expression. He’s an impressive sight.

He doesn’t speak, though having that phrase painted on the base is almost as good as having words come out of his mouth. I sent him off to school with my dad, a college professor, in hopes he might inspire some interesting conversations. Cool points to any students who realize what show Richard is from without sneaking a peek at the back of the base. Double cool points to anyone who knows what question he is answering, or what the answer means.

Richard Alpert has proven to be one of LOST‘s most fascinating characters, and I expect that after we’ve discovered everything there is to learn about him, he will seem even cooler. Here’s to you, Ricardus. Live long and prosper - but then that’s a blessing that seems to have worked its will upon you already...

If Anything Goes Wrong, Daniel Faraday Will Be My Constant

“I can make time.” So said the pint-sized piano prodigy version of LOST‘s quirky quantum physicist Daniel Faraday in The Variable, his only truly centric episode. Four short words with multiple meanings. They remind me both of his desire to balance scientific achievement with artistic pursuits and, later, romance, and they also bring to mind his experiments with temporal displacement and his efforts to change the course of time in order to alter the fate of someone he loves.

Daniel Faraday was the first really major new character introduced in the fourth season. He made a bumpy, parachute-assisted landing on the Island and yanked off his helmet, asking, through a rain-drenched haze, “Are you Jack?” He bore a slight resemblance to Charlie - and like Charlie, he possessed considerable musical talent, though we wouldn’t discover that until much later.

My almost immediate thought was that I wanted to trust him; in the next episode, we glimpsed him in the recent past, bewilderedly bawling his eyes out over footage of the found Oceanic 815 wreckage. I thought, “Surely a guy with that depth of empathy can’t be evil.” And everything about him seemed so endearing. And yet we were meant to believe the freighter was bad news, and by extension, everyone on it. At this stage of the game, I’m prepared to say that about four people on that boat were murderous maniacs but everyone else was pretty much okay, and Daniel was so much more. Losing Charlie was worth it to gain Daniel.

At this late date, I’ve come to suspect that Daniel - seriously troubled family history aside - is the character in LOST with whom I most identify. Not that I’m some kind of super-genius or anything. But there’s something in his sweet, twitchy, perpetually out-to-lunch manner that I feel I can understand all too well. In a cast full of exceptional actors, only Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson have impressed me more than Jeremy Davies. His intense, nuanced performance could have earned him an Emmy if only he’d been given a little more screen time.

Bif Bang Pow!’s Daniel Faraday bobblehead captures Daniel in the episode that virtually removed all doubt as to his benevolence. In The Constant, we got to see him as a long-haired mad scientist conducting covert experiments “that Oxford frowns upon”. Experiments involving migrating consciousness and a rat named Eloise, a moniker we would later learn was loaded with significance. Daniel is uniquely equipped to serve as Desmond’s guide in his disorienting time-leaping adventure. It’s ultimately up to Penny, the love of Desmond’s life, to keep his brain from melting into a puddle of goo, but without Daniel’s guidance, he never would have made it as far as his one true love. Daniel saved Desmond’s life, and that wins him about a thousand cool points in my book.

Like fellow bobbleheads Edgar Halliwax, Richard Alpert and Benjamin Linus, Daniel stands just under seven inches tall, including his base, which is arguably the coolest of the lot - the journal in which he is always scribbling down the ideas that go “way over” the heads of folks like Frank Lapidus, and most of us. Also in the journal: a note from his mother indicating that she will always love him and a note to himself that if anything goes wrong, Desmond will be his constant. That is one iconic prop. It’s brown and embossed with a fancy, swirly design on the top. “Daniel Faraday” is featured in raised white letters on the front, which is the journal’s binding, while the back has “LOST” against the white of the book’s pages.

Daniel himself is dressed in a rather confusing manner befitting the episode. He seems to reside in two different timelines, for Eloise rests calmly on his shoulder, but his sturdy light brown shoes, black pants, pale blue shirt, practical many-pocketed vest and amusingly ever-present black tie are all Island attire. The wristwatch on his left hand serves as a reminder of the importance of time to this character. The journal makes a repeat performance, held aloft in a dramatic pose rather reminiscent of Hamlet and Yorick’s skull. Sadly, this mini-version lacks the cover detail of the stand, and though it’s open, no discernible words are inside. I would have loved to see the “Desmond Hume will be my constant” line in there.

Daniel’s face is something of a puzzle too, since his hair seems about halfway between his fairly short Island hair and his long, hipster-ish Oxford hair. The seamless beard-and-mustache combo is neat and trimmed, the expression inscrutable. Both eyes are squinty, as though he is in the midst of thinking very hard about something. No doubt an epiphany is imminent.

If I had to choose a favorite among the four LOST bobbleheads produced thus far, Daniel would probably be it. I might also venture a guess that he’s a bit sturdier, as Daniel, Richard and Edgar arrived in the mail together, and while the latter two were broken, the fantastic Faraday was flawless. I must take a moment to commend the ABC store here because as soon as I contacted them about my broken bobbleheads, they sent new, more properly packaged ones out. In less than a week, I had them in my hands, this time free of blemishes.

The full ramifications of Daniel’s decisions late in season five remain to be seen. Whatever happens, however, Daniel stands near the very top of my hierarchy of LOST characters, and it feels more than fitting to have him bobbing his head agreeably at me as I sit down to the instrument he so adored.

Do Not Attempt Time-Traveling Bunny Experiments Without Dr. Edgar Halliwax

It’s tough economic times right now, and like everyone else, I am generally trying to be as frugal as possible. Alas, I have a weakness: collectibles. And Bif Bang Pow! has seen fit to tempt me with a series of LOST bobbleheads. Currently, there are four, but at least one more is coming this summer, and I suspect that one will soon be joined by at least a couple of others.

When I found out about these bobbleheads, I knew that I would be buying Daniel Faraday and Richard Alpert, two of the show’s most fascinating characters. I wasn’t so sure about Dr. Edgar Halliwax, one of the many DHARMA filmstrip pseudonyms of Pierre Chang, the enigmatic man finally revealed in season five as ghost-whispering freighter fella Miles’ father. While I like the whole parent-child reconciliation angle and have found the filmstrips intriguing, I confess he’s not a character I’ve really connected with.

Nonetheless, I decided I couldn’t leave him out in the cold. So I purchased Edgar, or Mark, or Marvin, or Pierre, and he now stands on my piano with his fellow bobbling Island-dwellers. The reason he is identified not as Pierre but as Edgar is that he is caught in a moment from the filmstrip in which that pseudonym is introduced.

In this ominous video, he holds a white rabbit with a number 15 on the side while he speaks of the mysterious properties of the Orchid station, which facilitates time travel. He then proceeds to freak out because there are suddenly two #15 bunnies in the same room; as Back to the Future‘s Doc Brown could tell you, that right there is a recipe for disaster.

Including the black base, which, in white, has “Dr. Edgar Halliwax” on the front, “LOST” on the back and a generic DHARMA symbol on the top, this bobblehead stands nearly seven inches tall. Edgar has black shoes, grayish pants and a white lab coat with an Orchid patch on it. He wears a yellow tie with blue and black stripes, and in his arms, he cradles the red-eyed bunny with the 15 written on its side. His hands are clearly visible and are the same fleshy tone as his face, which looks characteristically serious. His lips are slightly parted, as if he’s about to say something important, and his left eyebrow is slightly arched while the eye beneath it bulges just a bit, as if to imply a Spockian “Fascinating.”

Like the other bobbleheads in this series, Edgar is frustratingly silent, though as I can’t really think of too many iconic lines from him, especially if it’s just going to be limited to this filmstrip, it doesn’t really bother me much. I find it a little curious that he was chosen for bobblehead representation when he is really a pretty minor character, but he is mythologically significant, as are the other characters depicted thus far. If he turns up on the show again, I feel that thanks to Bif Bang Pow!, I will have a deeper appreciation for him.

As bobbleheads go, Edgar is quite realistic-looking, and it must be a treat for Francois Chau to see his likeness preserved in such a manner. I have a hunch Edgar, priced at twelve dollars, is the least popular of the line thus far, but for those as deeply immersed in the show as I am, this no-nonsense scientist is a good guy to have looking over your shoulder.

Cuddling With Treehouse the Squirrel on Squirrel Appreciation Day

I have been a squirrel enthusiast for as long as I can remember, and those of you who have been subjected to my efforts to spread awareness of Squirrel Appreciation Day today will know that my fondness for these furry creatures has not dimmed with time. Unfortunately, squirrel-related items aren’t so easy to come by. That’s why I was ecstatic to discover the adorable Treehouse the Squirrel lurking near the cash wrap at the bookstore where I work.

Over the years, I’ve collected a few of Ty’s Beanie Babies. I was never an avid collector, particularly at the height of their popularity, but now that it’s pretty easy to find many of them in the bargain bin or in a heap at a garage sale, I don’t mind plunking down a couple of dollars for an ostrich or a koala, and certainly not for a squirrel as cuddly as this little fellow. From the looks of him, Treehouse is probably a Red Squirrel, though the tag doesn’t specify. What it does say is that he was “born” on July 12, 2007. The tag also reads, “From my house in a birch tree / There’s oh-so-much that you can see / Let me just say, I love my view / It helps me to find acorns, too!”

He’s very realistic-looking, and his fur is among the softest of any Beanie Baby I own. It’s silky and reddish-brown for the most part, though his front is a light beige color. While the bulk of his fur has a speckly quality to it, his tail is all one color, and it’s much thicker and furrier than the rest of him. About three inches of his five-inch-long tail is unattached to the main body, meaning there’s plenty of wiggle room for him to twitch his tail, though you’ll probably have to flick it to get it going. The tail stands straight up in the air but can be briefly bent into a question mark.

Treehouse stands about five inches tall on two paws, with realistic-looking haunches. Meanwhile, his two upper paws clutch an acorn, which is still plush but is made of a different material than the body, making it less soft to the touch. Treehouse has no visible mouth, but he does have a little nose consisting of two black stitches, along with two tiny black plastic eyes and two petite ears.

I’d already had Treehouse for more than a year when I bought Jeremy, my Gray Squirrel finger puppet. Treehouse is more realistic-looking, though Jeremy is certainly a high-quality toy. The two are of comparable size, but Treehouse is about half an inch taller; if they’d been made by the same company, I might take this as evidence that Treehouse is a Fox Squirrel rather than a Red Squirrel, since the latter are smaller than Gray Squirrels, but I’m sure the two companies didn’t confer with one another on their designs.

At any rate, they’re close enough in size that it’s easy to imagine them as buddies, striking out together on a peanut-scavenging expedition. Ty also makes a couple of other squirrels, though I don’t own either of them. Based on the pictures I’ve seen, it looks like Treehouse is the cutest, with Nutty coming in a close second and Nuts trailing them both by a good margin. At the moment, Treehouse is also the cheapest of the three, so this might be a good time to snatch him up.

Are squirrels more than just rats with big, bushy tails to you? If so, you might want to invite Treehouse into your home. And hey, you don’t even have to worry about him depleting your nut supply!

Show a Little Love to the Folkmanis Squirrel Finger Puppet on Squirrel Appreciation Day

Over the summer last year, I spent a few days with my friends Erica and Art, who live near Boston. We’re a bunch of tree-hugging English majors, so naturally, one of our day trips was to Walden, the secluded area where Henry David Thoreau lived in a tiny cabin he built himself. The night before we went, Erica’s sister called, and she warned me, “Don’t get sucked in by the finger puppets in the gift shop!” Of course, the main thing that this accomplished was to cause me to seek out said puppets. I wouldn’t say I got carried away, but when I saw the squirrel finger puppet, I couldn’t resist bringing him home.

Unlike the squirrels in Ty’s Beanie Babies line, the Folkmanis gray squirrel puppet has no assigned name. Come to think of it, I’ve never given him one. While Walden would be a natural choice, or perhaps Henry, I think I’ll call my little scamp Jeremy, in honor of Jeremy Davies, the LOST actor whose father, I recently learned, is a children’s author whose books include the field guide Rabbits, Squirrels, and Chipmunks. I like to imagine Mel Boring taking little Jeremy to the park and encouraging him to commune with the squirrels there; maybe that’s where he got the twitchiness that shows up in so many of his characters...

Jeremy stand about four and a half inches tall. It’s three inches from the front of his feet to the base of his tail, which is about four and a half inches long and very bushy. Jeremy is in a sitting position, with all four paws stretched out in front of him, two like legs, two like arms. Each paw has three pointy black toes, which are flat and made of felt. His stomach is white, but the rest of him is silver; there’s a different consistency and hue to the tail, which is more salt-and-peppery and very soft and fluffy.

The white up the front extends to the mouth, which is set in a sort of ambiguous frown. The stitched-in nose is black and consists of two lines, but the eyes are hard, round plastic balls set against white felt. His tiny ears are white on the inside and are very close to the eyes, on the side of the face. Right at the bottom is the finger hole that extends to the lower part of Jeremy’s head. As is typical for finger puppets, the range of motion is limited; I can’t move his “hands” or “feet” from the inside, though his tail is mobile enough that if I give him a little shake, he’ll respond with a flick of the tail.

This is a very cute little puppet, especially for someone who loves squirrels as much as I do. Since today is Squirrel Appreciation Day, I couldn’t resist bringing him downstairs to enhance the decor, though I’ll have to keep an eye on the cats and especially the dog, lest they mistake him for a chew toy. Whether you want him to star in your puppet show or sit on your shelf, for only six dollars, the Folkmanis squirrel finger puppet is a grand little playmate.

Buy Yourself a Bloody Ben Linus and Watch the Baddie Bobble

This past summer marked the last LOST panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, if head writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are to be believed. I wanted to go. But I couldn’t afford such an extravagant trip, especially when I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get into the LOST panel. So I followed the coverage from afar. But shortly before the convention began, I got wind of an exclusive convention item that I longed to possess. I’m not one who does a lot of frivolous spending, but figurines are one of my downfalls, and LOST has been steadily depleting my bank account ever since I discovered McFarlane’s sadly truncated line of talking action figures. The object of my desire this time? A bloody Ben Linus bobblehead.

No, I’m not swearing a la raving Scotsman Desmond. I’m describing the physical condition of the character at the moment in which he is captured. On the one hand, I thought, “Now why in the world do we want to look at that?” On the other hand, there’s a certain satisfaction for some in seeing Ben beaten to a bloody pulp. Not that it’s really anything new; Ben has probably endured as much bodily injury as any character on the show. And he’s usually had it coming.

But even though he’s a homicidal sociopath, Ben is one of LOST‘s most compelling characters, and I can’t help being completely fascinated with him and hoping he will find redemption. In that light, this is actually an ideal way for Ben to be presented, since it shows the immediate aftermath of one of his more sympathetic moments. We don’t know that at the time when we first see him board Ajira 316, his left arm cradled in a sling over his pale purple shirt, luggage and jacket draped over his right arm. We also don’t know that before his moment of mercy, he had murder on his mind, though anybody who had seen season four’s The Shape of Things to Come probably could venture a guess about the promise he told Jack he had to keep before he left Los Angeles. This is a moment that reminds the ardent fan of the best and worst in Ben, that accentuates his inscrutability. We probably won’t really know where he’s coming from until the final episode. If then.

Of course, since I was not going to Comic-Con, I was in a jam, as this bobblehead kept taunting me in Facebook links and in the pages of TV Guide. My understanding was that he would be for sale at Comic-Con, in an extremely limited run, and would never be seen again. And I found that most unfair. So after the convention began, I trotted off to eBay, and I secured myself a Ben Linus, even as I berated myself for paying such an inflated price for such a silly trinket. And then, this week, after getting word that more LOST bobbleheads are being rolled out, I found out that Ben is now available at the website Entertainment Earth for a mere $17. If I’d known that was going to happen, I would have waited and saved myself some money.

But aside from my disgruntlement over spending more than I had to, I don’t regret buying Ben. He comes in a white package stamped with the Dharma logo, and I thought about keeping him there, ironically trapped inside a “magic box”. But I couldn’t resist taking him out and thunking him down on my piano. Ben is seven inches tall and pretty heavy-duty. He stands on a black base with the Dharma logo on top in white and “Benjamin Linus” across the front and “LOST” on the back, also in white.

His shoes are brown, his pants are black, his pinstriped lilac shirt is disarmingly dapper. Though his arm is in a sling, it’s his face that really shows the aftermath of his ordeal, with large red streaks across his forehead, cheeks and chin. There are five scars in all, the most glaring one a gaping wound on his left cheek that extends to his eye and the bridge of his nose. His eyes are blue and beady, while his lips are pursed into a disquieting expression that may be indicative of misery or mirth; you never can tell with Ben. His hair is brown and rather messy; his ears have avoided serious injury. The skin tone is natural, with a very slight greyish tint to fit the experience Ben has just had, and his head is well situated, bobbling boisterously with the flick of a finger.

Of course, I’ve been spoiled by both the McFarlane figures and the bobblehead Spock I bought in May; those come equipped with sound chips, and I’d love to have a more complete representation of Michael Emerson’s Emmy-winning magnificence. For this bobblehead, the most logical quote would probably be, “If you can ever get off this Island, find Desmond Hume for me. Tell him I said I was sorry.” Alas, the one line I really long for in a talking Ben figure, “You guys got any milk?”, is so far in the past that he wasn’t even going by the same name at the time. Anyway, it’s a moot point since this Ben doesn’t speak. Oh, how I wish he did! Only if this figure was anything like my Spock bobblehead, he would start randomly jabbering in the middle of the night. Spock is generally soothing; Ben might give me the heebie-jeebies if he caught me by surprise at three in the morning.

If you’re as big a LOST geek as I am, then I feel obliged to inform you that Bif Bang Pow! didn’t stop with Ben. You can get 7-inch-tall action figures Jack and Kate or Sawyer and Juliet, dressed in Dharma garb and costing $30 per pair. These are fun, but since I already have McFarlane versions of all but Juliet, I can probably resist them. Same goes for Edgar Halliwax, one of the several personas of Dr. Pierre Chang, because when he’s staring out from that filmstrip, that dude is just creepy, even if he is holding a bunny.

Though I feel my resolve wavering even now, so I’ll move on to Richard Alpert, the serene Others advisor who became so much more interesting when season three‘s The Man Behind the Curtain revealed his agelessness. And unlike the other bobbleheads in this line, at least so far, he comes on a sand-colored base covered with leaves and twigs, and the top of it reads “Ille qui nos omnes servabit,” which is the elusive answer to the all-important question, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?”

Even better is Daniel Faraday, addled scientist extraordinaire, portrayed so winningly by Jeremy Davies. He’s got a lousy memory and a heap of mother issues (which is a bit of a nice change, I guess, from all the father issues, though he probably has those too). But he’s the only one who has any kind of handle on what is happening to the Island in the science fiction-heavy fifth season, so this gentle quantum physicist is not only one of my favorite characters, he’s indispensable. “Edgar,” Richard and Daniel each go for $13; I’m not sure why they’re four bucks cheaper than Ben, but I’m not complaining. The only downside is that they don’t arrive until early 2010, though you can pre-order them now. And, of course, that they don’t have sound chips either.

LOST‘s time is up in just a few short months. But maybe Bif Bang Pow! can help extend the experience just a little. I don’t know how many more bobbleheads are planned, so I don’t know that I’m prepared to say yet which one is the best of the bunch, and anyway, we all have our favorites. But Ben is certainly one of the most iconic characters, so if you’re an avid collector, I suspect the bedraggled Mr. Linus will be hard to pass up.

Mount Doom Frodo Is Glad to Be With Samwise Gamgee

When I went to Massachusetts in June, one of the souvenirs I brought home was the Mount Doom Sam figure that I found in Harrison’s Comic Book shop in Salem. I found it hard to resist the stalwart hobbit who bravely bellowed, “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!” I brought him home and gave him a place of honor on the piano. But something seemed to be missing. Where was the object of Samwise’s loyalty? When I discovered that this Sam figure had a specific complement, one who perched precariously on a rock grazed by molten lava and whispered, “I’m glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things,” I decided that if I ever found myself a few dollars short of the magic $25 mark on Amazon, I’d use Mount Doom Frodo to make up the difference. I didn’t have to wait too long.

July brought with it a new album from Celtic Thunder, my favorite musical discovery of the past year, as well as news that my old friends Simon and Garfunkel had recently released an album culled from concerts in 1969. When I saw that Amazon was offering both at half-price, I knew there was no point in delaying my order, and Frodo gave me just the boost I needed to push it into free shipping territory. Now I have Frodo and Sam standing together on the piano, solemnly surveying the living room.

Like Sam, Frodo has 29 points of articulation. Wrists, ankles, elbows, knees, neck… You name it, it’s moveable. Clearly this is designed to be a fully functional toy rather than just a display piece. As a result, Frodo looks a little clunkier than he would with less articulation, especially around the upper legs, but I’d say it’s a worthwhile trade-off. Frodo’s skin is grimy, and his feet are covered in hobbitish hair. The hair on his head is wavy and the same dark shade of brown, and the expression on his face looks vaguely melancholy. Frodo wears a dingy button-up shirt of a light brownish-off-white color. The top button is unbuttoned, and the Ring on the chain is clearly visible. His pants are dark brown with matching suspenders. None of the clothes are removable, nor is the Ring, and while Sam carries the dagger Sting, Frodo has no weapon to brandish.

Like Sam, Frodo stands about four and a half inches tall, though his base is a bit taller than Sam’s. The color of the rock is a bit darker, and to the side is a puddle of fiery red lava threatening to engulf a smaller rock. Each of Frodo’s feet has a hole in the bottom, allowing them to fit onto the pegs on the base. Sam fits more easily onto the pegs than Frodo does, but with a little persuasion he’ll stay put. Of course, it’s also the base that has the built-in sound chip, triggered by pushing in a knob of rock on the front. Sam has two lines, but Frodo has just the one. I can’t complain much about that, since it’s my favorite of Frodo’s lines in the movie, but Elijah Wood’s whispery delivery makes him a little harder to understand than Sam. Nonetheless, it’s a great feature.

I recommend hanging onto the back of the package, which gives instructions on how to work Frodo, including how to install the three LR44 button cell batteries. The little write-up is nice too, though I think the writer of the paragraph-long description could have done with a quick refresher course on the importance of agreement of tenses. Also, given the quote and the base, it seems he should be described as stumbling down the slopes of Mount Doom instead of up.

On the whole, I think I prefer the Sam figure, but Frodo is still a great likeness, and it seems fitting to reunite the two determined questers at the final stage of their journey. Prices on Amazon fluctuate, but I think I paid seven dollars for mine, which is half of what I paid for Sam. (That’ll teach me that Amazon is usually the best place to go; Sam is about the same price there as Frodo is.) If you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings, especially the movies, Mount Doom Frodo is a great catch, especially in tandem with Sam.

Trek Proudly With Toy Factory's Plush Scotty Doll

Shortly after Star Trek came out in May, I was delighted to find a talking Spock bobblehead. He was one of four, but I had no great desire to purchase Captain Kirk or either of the one-shot aliens that had also been given the bobblehead treatment. I wished that other characters had been selected instead, especially Scotty and Bones. I'm still on the lookout for Dr. McCoy, but thanks to a lucky block sale find, I can now check Scotty off my list.

I was perusing a table full of oddities when I spotted him out of the corner of my eye, lying on a blanket in the grass. I saw the insignia first, and I knew I'd want him whoever he was, because how often does one stumble upon a foot-and-a-half-tall plush Enterprise crew member for fifty cents? But a quick peek at the red shirt and the expression of consternation told me that this was Montgomery Scott, galaxy-class engineer. Either that, or a random red-shirt about to be pulverized by some hostile alien being. But a peek at the tag confirmed it. I had my Scotty.

I find it rather sad that poor Scotty must be frozen into a permanent state of aggravation, but given that most of his catch phrases - "I canna change the laws of physics!", "I'm givin' 'er all she's got, cap'n!" and the like - involve perilous situations, it seems like an appropriate choice. I wish that Scotty, like Spock, could talk; would it have been that hard to stick a sound chip into his hand or behind the gold insignia on his uniform shirt? Half the fun of the character is his Scottish accent, but you just have to imagine it, or provide it yourself.

Scotty has big black shoes and black pants, and his shirt is red with gold trim and a black collar. The pants seem to be made of felt, while the shirt and shoes look like nylon and don't attract pet hair so easily. Scotty's flesh-colored hands and black hair are the same material as the pants, while his flesh-colored face and ears are the same as the shirt and shoes. His facial features are purely two-dimensional, with thick lines forming his mouth, nose, eyes and eyebrows and thinner lines helping to accentuate how stressed out he is.

Scotty is just large enough that he makes a good stand-in for a teddy bear, especially on trips, where his presence is likely to inspire laughter. I brought him camping with me, and upon my return to our small cabin, I discovered that my friend had left him dangling by one foot from the top bunk, giving him a good reason for that grimace. I haven't removed his tag yet, but once I do, I'm sure he'll be even more cuddly. I expect the same is true of solemn Spock and smirking Kirk, the other two characters in this line.

I was surprised to find out that they'd been released in 2009; what would prompt his young owner to toss him in the yard sale so quickly? Maybe he was a gift from someone trying unsuccessfully to turn the kid into a Trekkie. In any event, he cheerfully said, "Oh, that's mine!" when he spotted Scotty in my arms and rushed off to get me a bag. So I think he was much more excited about gaining fifty cents than upset about losing the greatest engineer Starfleet has ever known.

If you're a Trekkie looking for a fun addition to your bedroom, you might want to look into Scotty or his commanders. I've never seen them in stores, but they seem to be pretty easy to come by on eBay and Amazon, where you can expect to pay $10 to $15 each for them. A note on my tag promises, "More beaming down soon!" so perhaps all seven of the major crewmembers will be pillows before long. So far, I've seen no evidence that this Toy Factory line has expanded, but if Bones turns up, I might have to think about giving Scotty a buddy. Till then, perhaps my Tribble would be appropriate company...

It's a Jolly Holiday With Mary; No Wonder That It's Mary That We Love!

Last week, my friend Libbie and I set off around her neighborhood in search of treasure at her block sale. The day was overcast, and there seemed to be only a small smattering of houses participating, so we weren't sure how much luck we would have. Imagine our surprise, then, when one of the first houses we visited had several Mattel dolls for sale, each in its original packaging and selling for five dollars. I'm not a big Barbie fan, but I spotted one that appealed to me; Barbie looked much more youthful than usual, wearing a pale pink dress with a white overskirt featuring illustrations from one of my favorite childhood books. Then Libbie turned my attention to Mary Poppins, and I gave a squeal of delight, for that sweet-as-sugar but no-nonsense nanny has always been one of my very favorite characters. Even better, this was not merely Barbie dressed as Mary; one look at the face made it clear that Julie Andrews was the model for this particular doll. I knew I had to snag it.

This Disney Collector Doll is the Jolly Holiday Edition, which suggested to me that there was another edition, perhaps Mary in her black suit and hat with her handbag. This doll came out in 1999; I see that Mattel released one in more conservative attire in 1993, though it included a Jolly Holiday outfit and the face looked more like Barbie than Andrews. My mom tells me she had a Mary doll when she was growing up, and it was Mary as she appeared at the beginning of the film, but unfortunately, that was one of those childhood toys that fell out of her possession before I came along. Certainly Mattel is not the only company to have used this movie as inspiration, but this Jolly Holiday Edition Mary may just be the nicest option out there for fans of the classic Disney musical.

I debated before deciding to take Mary out of her packaging. After all, it's very attractive, with a backdrop of the ornate carousel she rides in the chalk drawing, with views of the lush, tree-laden park on either side. The backdrop is removable from the box, and it can fold out to be a bit larger if you remove the tape on the back. Mary is tethered down with many strings and plastic twist-ties, so getting her completely loose from her packaging took me quite a while, but as long as you're careful, you'll still have a decent-looking backdrop when you're done. The box itself is also very nice. Most of the front portion is transparent, with red curtains on the top and bottom. This design continues on the sides and the back, which features two pictures of Mary and Bert as well as a description of the doll and its context in the movie. I have no plans to sell Mary, but I intend to keep the box and leave the certificate of authenticity inside.

On the front of the box is a note that says "For the adult collector over 14 years." In other words, this doll is more of a display piece than a toy. Mary comes with a doll stand, the base of which reads, in fancy curlicued letters, "Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins". Articulation is limited, but her legs, arms and head are moveable in a variety of directions. Mary's dress is the pinnacle of frothy summery beauty. Her dress is white with a white gauze overlay garnished with red bows. Connecting the top and bottom portion of the dress is a red section with white stripes. Mary also wears lacy half-gloves, and though the main fabric in her upper dress is sleeveless, her arms and neck are covered in the gauzy material.

On her head is a plastic hat that is transparent with white trim and three pink cloth roses on the brim. This is attached with a sort of red collar with white stripes and a large gauzy bow. Under her dress is a frilly pink petticoat that matches her pink shoes, over which she wears high white socks. Her dress closes with Velcro at the back. Her brown hair is pulled into a neat bun, her lash-enhanced eyes are a sparkling blue, and her mouth forms a contented grin, with red lipstick and dazzling white teeth in stark contrast. Finally, attached to her left hand is her pink and white parasol, which is closed and which has her parrot on the end. As in the movie, the parrot can open and close its mouth. Mary rests comfortably on the doll stand, though I have a difficult time getting her to stand up entirely straight. She has a tendency to lean forward, but she doesn't seem in any danger of toppling.

If Mattel had wanted to go all out, this doll could have included a couple of other props; I would've especially enjoyed the penguins that serve as her waiters in one of the movie's funniest scenes. Also, a later edition of this doll evidently has a musical stand; I assume it winds up at the bottom, and probably plays Jolly Holiday. That would be a really neat feature. Of course, if you choose not to take your doll out of the case, it won't be of much use. The other thing that I discovered is that Mattel released a Bert doll that looks equally charming. I love Bert just as much as Mary, and it would be really neat to have both of them, especially since I happen to know that my parents once performed a series of musical numbers from the film dressed as Mary and Bert in their Jolly Holiday attire. I doubt I'll be lucky enough to stumble upon Bert at another yard sale, but I might have to keep my eye on eBay for a killer deal. Meanwhile, I'm happy to display the one I have and cheerfully declare that it's a jolly holiday with Mary!