May 23rd, 2010 marked the end of one of the most talked about shows on television – ABC’s LOST. Created by JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Jeffrey Lieber, this supernateral, mystical, mythological, theological, science fictional drama relied on flashbacks and eventual flashforwards, mixed with the present, to tell watercooler television. When it ended 5 years ago today, it sparked outrageous controversy, reminiscient of the outcry at The Sopranos ending, three years before. Still today (and I think it still will be 20 years from now), there remains such a divide between those who loved and those who hated the series, especially that unexpected ending. For the most part, the majority of viewers tend to land on one side of endings – Dexter, most hated, while Sons Of Anarchy, most loved. Not so with this show.

Which side did you fall on?

Marvel Anime: Blade
DVD | Instant Video
Directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara
Written by Warren Ellis
Starring Harold Perrineau, Kim Mai Guest, JB Blanc, Troy Baker
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 31, 2012

Marvel Anime: Blade is the last of the first wave of Marvel DVD releases of anime versions of their characters produced by Japanese animation company Madhouse. These anime series aired in Japan originally, were dubbed in English, aired on G4, and were then collected on DVD and Blu-ray.

Blade is Eric Brooks, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid known as “The Daywalker” because sunlight does not affect him. While Blade’s mom was pregnant with him, she was attacked by the vampire Deacon Frost, resulting in Blade’s unique nature. Blade struggled to control his bloodlust until he met Noah Van Helsing, an old vampire slayer. He taught Blade to control his urges and Blade began training and traveling the world, vowing revenge on Deacon Frost and seeking the destruction of the vampire race.

It’s not uncommon for large groups of people confined to depressing institutions where their every move is monitored and their freedoms are limited to divide up into splinter factions where each group’s solitary unifying factor is either their race, gender, nationality, heritage, lifestyle choice, or their desire to survive to see another sunset, and I’m not just talking about high school.

One of the basic rules of survival when you end up spending an extended amount of time behind bars is to join a gang, something that the brilliant television series Oz taught me.

Check out this infographic here below called A Look At The Gangs In Oz which breaks down every gang on Oz, listing the leaders, along with the criminal statistics of the gang members.

Rarely does anyone tune in for the actual award presentations during a ceremony such as Spike TV’s Scream Awards. With fans voting and Spike stupidly including the worthless Twilight Saga in the nominees, there’s always a very, very good chance that horribly undeserving winners will be announced.

That said, there’s usually a lot of fun special guests and world exclusive first peeks at big upcoming movies, which does make it worth a watch. This year, Spike has put together a couple of significant dedications and reunions that will make it even more must-see. We just saw the promo for Back to the Future, which will see the cast reuniting on stage for the 25th Anniversary celebration, and there will also be a nice dedication to ABC’s mega-hit show, LOST, which sadly ended not too long ago.

To promote this special salute to the series, a special Dharma Initiative video was created with our old friend Dr. Chang (or whatever of his other names you prefer), explaining how you can help. This includes sitting around your television, enjoying some Dharma chips and beverages, and maybe even a nice 40oz malt liquor. You can see the video by heading below now!