Dun, dun, dun. Dun, dah-dun. Dun, dah-dun.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…..

For someone who is not a huge Star Wars fan (I really have nothing against it, I’m just quite indifferent about the whole thing), I found myself entering into an alternate galaxy filled with grown men dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi and children with plastic light sabers.

Fresno, or at least the Save Mart Center, was swallowed by a black hole on Thursday as local Sith Lords and Luke Skywalker wannabe’s gathered to witness Star Wars in Concert, a live symphony orchestra performing music from all six movies.

When my in-laws first told me that I would be spending $60 to attend a Star Wars concert, I was less than thrilled. However, as Thursday approached my curiosity got the better of me, and I found my excitement building. I pictured a scene straight out of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, belittling all the freaky nerds in full costume and declaring the event “Return of the Dorks.” To my surprise, we were greeted by a much larger percentage of sweet families with eager children in tow instead of the crazies I had envisioned. My 4-year-old nephew and 3-year-old niece were among the wee Storm Troopers and Leias in attendance, and watching their reactions was priceless.


The crowd hummed with excitement, families crowed for photo ops with Darth Vader (yes, I was among those vying for a Kodak moment with the Dark Lord), memorabilia from the films lined the hallways, a group of Storm Troopers marched through the crowd and inside the orchestra prepared to take center stage.


Aside from the franchise hype and commercialism involved, the performance itself was incredible. The story unfolded through the narrated prose of Anthony Daniels, the voice of C-3PO. Daniels, who came out on stage before each score, did a superb job of introducing the audience to the characters and story. At one point in the show he even impersonated his beloved character, unbuttoning his black tuxedo jacket to reveal a shiny gold vest. With each score, the audience was transported through time and space. The notes filled the building as scenes from the movies played on a large screen above the orchestra and choir. A number of scores were synchronized with green rays of light shooting across the crowd like flashes from a light saber. It really was out of this world!

After the final note was played, Daniels, the maestro and the performers were greeted with wild cheers and glowing light sabers shaking in approval. After a few minutes of clapping and cheering, Daniels came back on stage and exclaimed that we were quite the joyous audience. “Do you wish to return to the dark side?” he asked with sly grin. The crowd, in unison, shouted an emphatic “YES!” and Darth Vader’s famous Imperial March brought the evening to a close.

Needless to say, I am thankful that I married into a nerdy, Star Wars-loving family; otherwise I may never have been “forced” to visit this faraway galaxy!

What a trip!

The journey is over.

The LOST series finale aired on May 22, 2010, bringing fans to a widely contested close. After six faithful years of diligently following the hour-long drama, LOST fans are now searching to fill that hole (or at least the weekly time slot).

The road was long and winding, not for the faint of heart. Each week LOST dared fans to keep up with the ever-changing plots, extensive character developments, exciting twists and turns and endless amounts of questions, many of which will remain unanswered and continue to torment hardcore Losties for years to come. Over the course of six seasons intertwining flashbacks, flash forwards, flash sideways, and a questionable "reality" gradually merged in a convoluted mess, all tangled up like a tightly wound ball of rubber bands. As the last season approached, lofty promises were made igniting fan's hopes for a resolution, and, most importantly, explanations to the scores of questions that had built up over the years. With the final season underway it became apparent that each new week would leave us, yet again, with those all too familiar feelings of dissatisfaction and disillusionment. The love/hate relationship we fostered over the years would continue to the bitter end, and, like it or not, LOST was not just going to simply hand us a nicely packaged set of answers. There were too many intricacies, too many unexplained situations, too many intermingled story lines to sort through. LOST fans faced a fork in the road: continue on with the disillusioned idea that a sensible conclusion would manage to tie up all the lose ends and deliver a resolution, or accept the fact that there were no answers; an easy resolution simply did not exist. That nagging sense of confusion would remain, and in the end we would find our closure by biding farewell to the beloved characters instead of hopelessly trying to account for every detail of the mysterious island.

My life is rooted in reality and I do understand that LOST was only a make believe story, lacking any real value in the big scheme of things. But LOST was much more than just a television show. It was a weekly event that promoted deep thought, discussion and debate. It allowed friends to bond. It provided endless talk at the water cooler. It created a subculture of Losties, obsessed with the smoke monster and the time-traveling island. With the risk of sounding like one of those crazy obsessed fans, I admit that I cried when it was all over. Not only did it feel like I was saying goodbye to dear friends (the characters), but I would miss the weekly time with our good friends, Josh & Stacy, not to mention all of Josh's smoothies.

Josh & Stacy Huggins, Kristin & Jeremy Berquist.....so sad it's over.