Something Nice Back Home
Encyclopedia
"Something Nice Back Home" is the tenth episode of the American Broadcasting Company
's fourth season
of the serial
drama
television series
Lost
and 82nd episode overall. It was aired on May 1, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV
in Canada. The episode was written in February and March by co-executive producers Edward Kitsis
and Adam Horowitz and directed in March and April by supervising producer Stephen Williams
. Critical reviews were mixed and the broadcast of "Something Nice Back Home" brought in 13 million American viewers, one of the smallest audiences for an original episode of Lost in the show's history.
The narrative begins on December 28, 2004, 98 days after the crash of Oceanic Airlines
Flight 815. The leader of the survivors, Jack Shephard
(played by Matthew Fox
) develops appendicitis
and Juliet Burke
(Elizabeth Mitchell
) operates on him. Meanwhile, James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
), Miles Straume
(Ken Leung
), Claire Littleton
(Emilie de Ravin
), and her baby Aaron continue their trek to the beach from the Barracks. In a flashforward, Jack experiences visions of his deceased father Christian Shephard
(John Terry
), while his relationship with Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
) is strained soon after he proposes marriage. Kitsis said that the episode "was interesting because [it shows] a time, maybe brief, where Jack was happy."
medical station. Sun is accompanied by Jin-Soo Kwon
(Daniel Dae Kim), Daniel Faraday
(Jeremy Davies
) and Charlotte Lewis
(Rebecca Mader
); the latter pair are increasingly distrusted by the survivors. Jin realizes that Charlotte is fluent in Korean and confronts her after their successful trip, threatening to hurt Daniel if she continues to lie about her agenda and does not get Sun off the island. Jack convinces Juliet to allow him to remain awake during the surgery, with Kate holding a mirror, so that he can see and direct the surgery. As Juliet operates, Jack's consciousness proves to be a detriment and her nurse—dentist Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson
)—knocks him out with chloroform. The appendectomy is a success; afterwards, Juliet tells Kate that Jack really does love Kate and not Juliet.
Sawyer gives Miles a "restraining order" to keep him away from Claire as they travel to the survivors' beach camp with Claire's infant son, Aaron. On their way, Miles discovers the partially-buried bodies of Danielle Rousseau
(Mira Furlan
) and Karl (Blake Bashoff
). They encounter Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey
), who saves their lives by instructing them to hide from a nearby Martin Keamy (Kevin Durand
) and the other mercenaries, who are on their way back to the helicopter to return to the freighter Kahana. At night, Miles watches Claire as she leaves with her deceased father, Christian. Sawyer awakes the next morning to find Aaron alone in a nearby tree and calls out for Claire with no response.
In the flashforwards, Jack has returned to work as a doctor in Los Angeles. He is engaged to Kate and lives with her while helping to raise Aaron (William Blanchette). Jack visits Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
), who is in a mental institution. Hurley has not been taking his medication and suffering from hallucinations of his deceased friend, Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
). He believes that the Oceanic Six have died and gone to heaven. Hurley gives Jack a message from Charlie: "You're not supposed to raise him." Charlie has also told Hurley that Jack will be receiving a visitor. On two separate occasions, Jack sees his father; Jack asks his colleague Erika Stevenson (April Parker Jones) to prescribes him the anti-anxiety drug clonazepam
. After overhearing a phone call, Jack becomes suspicious of Kate. The next night, a heated argument ensues, in which she reveals that she is doing an errand for Sawyer, who Jack says is on the island by choice. Aaron arrives as Jack blurts out that Kate and Aaron are not related.
" and "Cabin Fever
". Shooting began by March 24, alongside filming of the previous episode and continued through April 4. The flashforwards were written partially to explain what led Jack to become the drug addict that he is in third season finale
's flashforwards, who believes that his father is alive. Matthew Fox stated that the fourth season is "starting to close the loop on the end of [the third] season. Jack in the future is a man marked by weakness, but the Jack [on the island in December 2004] is strong. ['Something Nice Back Home' explains] how he made that transition." When asked why Hurley does not take drugs to see Charlie, but Jack starts his drug addiction to try not to see Christian, Edward Kitsis said that "Jack has … always been a man of science, and there has to be something logical. The scene where Jack is staring at the bench where Hurley sits when Charlie visits him, I think in that moment he's thinking, my life right now is pretty good, I don't want to end up here." In regard to the contrast in Kate's character on the island and after the island, Kitsis said that "you could say [that] motherhood suits her. In the flashforwards … there's a sense of purpose to her, there's some clarity to her. There's so much devotion to that child, and she appears to be such a great mother … taking care of Aaron may have helped her put away some other issues."
"Something Nice Back Home" was viewed live or recorded and watched within four hours of broadcast by 10.726 million American viewers, scoring a 4.7/13 in the key adults 18–49 demographic, ranking Lost as the twenty-first most watched series of the week and setting a ratings low for the series. A total of 12.946 million Americans watched the episode live or recorded it and watched it within seven days; this number was factored into the season's average. The episode was viewed by 1.322 million Canadians, making Lost the nineteenth most watched show of the week. 647,000 in the United Kingdom tuned in to the local broadcast. In Australia, "Something Nice Back Home" was watched by 505 000 people, having been moved to a later timeslot of 10.30 pm, outside the prime time
viewing block.
Verne Gay of Newsday
described it as "another fine, fine Lost". The San Diego Union-Tribune
' s Karla Peterson gave the episode an "A", calling it "one of those dense, chewy episodes in which a lot of stuff happened to a lot of people, and the foundation was laid for one hell of a season finale." She praised Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, Elizabeth Mitchell and Jeremy Davies's work in "Something Nice Back Home", while Tom Iacuzio of The Daytona Beach News-Journal deemed Jeremy Davies's performance deserving of a Primetime Emmy Award
. The Palm Beach Post
' s Kevin Thompson "thought [that] Matthew [Fox] did a nice job conveying a wide range of emotions—scared, haunted, frustration, horny, jealousy, just to name a few." Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly
said that "Something Nice Back Home" "was partly a transitional passage in the Lost saga, a busywork episode designed to put all the characters in position for the year's big finale" and "[Jack's] appendicitis [was] the kind of hardcore castaway survival plotline we haven't really seen since season 1. Combined with a strong character-driven flash story, it was very old school Lost." Jensen also "liked how the episode neatly neutralized one of [his] least favorite season 4 moments, the Jack-Juliet smooch". TV Guide
' s Michael Ausiello
wrote that "Fox quietly solidified his status as one of the tube's most reliable and unshowy stalwarts" and deemed him deserving of a Primetime Emmy Award
nomination
. Oscar Dahl of BuddyTV
gave the episode a positive review, saying that he was "shocked and baffled" and writing that "Lost … can give me an exciting, well-done episode while making me fear where the series is going … [because] ghosts aren't my thing." The Huffington Post
's Jay Glatfelter decided that "what made this episode great was the fact that it just contained so much story [with] Jack's flashforward [making] this one of his most interesting 'centric' episodes. … Not only was Jack's story interesting for a change, but the inclusion of [many] other characters … and giving them great story and character development [was also intriguing]." Daniel of TMZ
graded "Something Nice Back Home" as a "B". In his recap, he wrote that "if that's the last we ever see of Claire again, that would be BEYOND awesome."
Robert Bianco of USA Today
praised Fox's performance, saying that it was almost worthy of an Emmy nomination. The Star-Ledger
' s Alan Sepinwall of gave the episode a mixed review, saying that "I find [Jack] and his love life simultaneously boring and obnoxious … [and] insufferable"; however, he enjoyed the subplots and commended the acting by Matthew Fox and Jorge Garcia. James Poniewozik of Time
did not enjoy the flashforwards, commenting that they were "the first of the flashforwards that resembled one of the bad old flashbacks, in that it just reconfirmed character traits we already knew and showed Jack and Kate falling into patterns we knew from the past … I didn't get much from it". IGN
's Chris Carabott gave the episode a 7.5/10, making it his least favorite episode of the season. Carabott wrote that "this season [Lost' s main character Jack] seems to have been relegated to playing second fiddle … oddly enough, even in his own episode, Jack really isn't given much to do" and stated that "the possible rekindling of Jack and Kate's romantic relationship on the island is juxtaposed quite well with their relationship during the flashforward." Dan Compora of SyFy Portal
wrote that "the pace … was a bit too slow" and "I usually like the Jack-centered episodes, but a bout of appendicitis simply does not make for high drama or stimulating action"; however, he noted that "all in all, this was a good episode, but it was nothing special." Compora praised Fox's increasingly good acting, but said that "this season has seen much stronger lead performances from Michael Emerson
[in 'The Shape of Things to Come
' as Ben Linus] and Henry Ian Cusick
[as Desmond Hume
in 'The Constant
']." Erin Martell of AOL
's TV Squad called "Something Nice Back Home" "a break after last week's action- and information-packed episode", argued that Rousseau was not given a proper death and enjoyed Rose and Bernard's roles. UGO's Sara shared Martell's sentiments in regard to Rose and Bernard's appearances and speculated that "Something Nice Back Home" would not be enjoyed by fans who like Rousseau or do not like Jack. Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy
gave the episode three out of five stars, saying that "the Jack-Kate romantic intrigue is rather dull, while the appendix plot feels like an unnecessary narrative obstacle for viewers to surmount."
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's fourth season
Lost (season 4)
The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008 and concluded on May 29, 2008...
of the serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
and 82nd episode overall. It was aired on May 1, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada. The episode was written in February and March by co-executive producers Edward Kitsis
Edward Kitsis
Edward Lawrence Kitsis, also sometimes credited as Eddy Kitsis, is an American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on the popular American television series, Lost and Once Upon a Time.-Life and career:...
and Adam Horowitz and directed in March and April by supervising producer Stephen Williams
Stephen Williams (director)
Stephen Williams is a Canadian film and television director. Williams has directed several modern day television programs including work as a regular director on the ABC drama series Lost, where he was also a co-executive producer...
. Critical reviews were mixed and the broadcast of "Something Nice Back Home" brought in 13 million American viewers, one of the smallest audiences for an original episode of Lost in the show's history.
The narrative begins on December 28, 2004, 98 days after the crash of Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines and less frequently Oceanic Airways are fictional airlines used in several films and television programs.The most famous use of this brand is in the TV show Lost, where Oceanic Airlines is featured branded with a highly-stylized logo depicting an Aboriginal dot painting that...
Flight 815. The leader of the survivors, Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(played by Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) develops appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
and Juliet Burke
Juliet Burke
Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
(Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
) operates on him. Meanwhile, James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
), Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
(Ken Leung
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
), Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
), and her baby Aaron continue their trek to the beach from the Barracks. In a flashforward, Jack experiences visions of his deceased father Christian Shephard
Christian Shephard
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard , who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815 after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton , another of the survivors...
(John Terry
John Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
), while his relationship with Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
) is strained soon after he proposes marriage. Kitsis said that the episode "was interesting because [it shows] a time, maybe brief, where Jack was happy."
Plot
After feeling ill for a day, Jack faints. Juliet diagnoses him with appendicitis and deems an appendectomy necessary. She sends Sun Kwon (Yunjin Kim) to get medical supplies from the Staff Dharma InitiativeDHARMA Initiative
The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , was a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. Dharma's interests were directly connected with fringe science...
medical station. Sun is accompanied by Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
(Daniel Dae Kim), Daniel Faraday
Daniel Faraday
Dr. Daniel Faraday, often referred to as Dan or simply by his surname, Faraday, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the season four premiere as a physicist, suffering from memory loss, and is part of the team aboard the ...
(Jeremy Davies
Jeremy Davies (actor)
Jeremy Davies is an American film and television actor. He is known for portraying the interpreter Cpl. Timothy E. Upham in the film Saving Private Ryan and the physicist Daniel Faraday on the television series Lost. He most recently appeared in the FX series, Justified, as Dickie Bennett.-Early...
) and Charlotte Lewis
Charlotte Lewis (Lost)
Dr. Charlotte Staples Lewis is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company television series Lost, played by Rebecca Mader. Charlotte is introduced in the second episode of season four and is a cultural anthropologist on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed...
(Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Leigh Mader is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Morgan Gordon on All My Children and Charlotte Lewis on Lost.-Career:...
); the latter pair are increasingly distrusted by the survivors. Jin realizes that Charlotte is fluent in Korean and confronts her after their successful trip, threatening to hurt Daniel if she continues to lie about her agenda and does not get Sun off the island. Jack convinces Juliet to allow him to remain awake during the surgery, with Kate holding a mirror, so that he can see and direct the surgery. As Juliet operates, Jack's consciousness proves to be a detriment and her nurse—dentist Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson is an American actor.-Early life:Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. During the 1970s, Sam taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.-Career:Anderson is perhaps best known for his roles...
)—knocks him out with chloroform. The appendectomy is a success; afterwards, Juliet tells Kate that Jack really does love Kate and not Juliet.
Sawyer gives Miles a "restraining order" to keep him away from Claire as they travel to the survivors' beach camp with Claire's infant son, Aaron. On their way, Miles discovers the partially-buried bodies of Danielle Rousseau
Danielle Rousseau
Danielle Rousseau is a fictional character on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. Croatian actress Mira Furlan plays the scientist who shipwrecks on the island sixteen...
(Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is well known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 , and Danielle Rousseau on Lost.-Early life:Furlan was born to an...
) and Karl (Blake Bashoff
Blake Bashoff
Blake Warren Bashoff is an American television and motion picture actor, known for his role as Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening. He has also appeared in a number of guest roles on television series, including the ABC series Lost as Karl Martin.- Life and career :Bashoff was born in Philadelphia,...
). They encounter Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey
Jeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
), who saves their lives by instructing them to hide from a nearby Martin Keamy (Kevin Durand
Kevin Durand
Kevin Serge Durand is a Canadian actor known for his roles as Joshua in Dark Angel, Martin Keamy in Lost, Fred J. Dukes in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Archangel Gabriel in Legion, and Little John in Robin Hood....
) and the other mercenaries, who are on their way back to the helicopter to return to the freighter Kahana. At night, Miles watches Claire as she leaves with her deceased father, Christian. Sawyer awakes the next morning to find Aaron alone in a nearby tree and calls out for Claire with no response.
In the flashforwards, Jack has returned to work as a doctor in Los Angeles. He is engaged to Kate and lives with her while helping to raise Aaron (William Blanchette). Jack visits Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
), who is in a mental institution. Hurley has not been taking his medication and suffering from hallucinations of his deceased friend, Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
). He believes that the Oceanic Six have died and gone to heaven. Hurley gives Jack a message from Charlie: "You're not supposed to raise him." Charlie has also told Hurley that Jack will be receiving a visitor. On two separate occasions, Jack sees his father; Jack asks his colleague Erika Stevenson (April Parker Jones) to prescribes him the anti-anxiety drug clonazepam
Clonazepam
Clonazepamis a benzodiazepine drug having anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, and hypnotic properties. It is marketed by Roche under the trade name Klonopin in the United States and Rivotril in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Europe...
. After overhearing a phone call, Jack becomes suspicious of Kate. The next night, a heated argument ensues, in which she reveals that she is doing an errand for Sawyer, who Jack says is on the island by choice. Aaron arrives as Jack blurts out that Kate and Aaron are not related.
Production
The episode was written by March 10, 2008 and was done alongside "The Shape of Things to ComeThe Shape of Things to Come (Lost)
"The Shape of Things to Come" is the 81st episode of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost and is the ninth episode of the fourth season. It aired on April 24, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada. The episode was written by co-executive producer Drew Goddard and...
" and "Cabin Fever
Cabin Fever (Lost)
"Cabin Fever" is the 11th episode of the American Broadcasting Company's fourth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 83rd episode overall. It was aired on May 8, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada. The episode was written by supervising producer Elizabeth...
". Shooting began by March 24, alongside filming of the previous episode and continued through April 4. The flashforwards were written partially to explain what led Jack to become the drug addict that he is in third season finale
Through the Looking Glass (Lost)
"Through the Looking Glass" is the third season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the third season. It is also the 71st and 72nd episodes overall. It was written by co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse,...
's flashforwards, who believes that his father is alive. Matthew Fox stated that the fourth season is "starting to close the loop on the end of [the third] season. Jack in the future is a man marked by weakness, but the Jack [on the island in December 2004] is strong. ['Something Nice Back Home' explains] how he made that transition." When asked why Hurley does not take drugs to see Charlie, but Jack starts his drug addiction to try not to see Christian, Edward Kitsis said that "Jack has … always been a man of science, and there has to be something logical. The scene where Jack is staring at the bench where Hurley sits when Charlie visits him, I think in that moment he's thinking, my life right now is pretty good, I don't want to end up here." In regard to the contrast in Kate's character on the island and after the island, Kitsis said that "you could say [that] motherhood suits her. In the flashforwards … there's a sense of purpose to her, there's some clarity to her. There's so much devotion to that child, and she appears to be such a great mother … taking care of Aaron may have helped her put away some other issues."
Reception
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
viewing block.
Verne Gay of Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
described it as "another fine, fine Lost". The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
. The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said that "Something Nice Back Home" "was partly a transitional passage in the Lost saga, a busywork episode designed to put all the characters in position for the year's big finale" and "[Jack's] appendicitis [was] the kind of hardcore castaway survival plotline we haven't really seen since season 1. Combined with a strong character-driven flash story, it was very old school Lost." Jensen also "liked how the episode neatly neutralized one of [his] least favorite season 4 moments, the Jack-Juliet smooch". TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello is an American television industry journalist and actor. He was a Senior Writer at TV Guide and its companion website, TVGuide.com. On May 28, 2008, Ausiello left TV Guide for Entertainment Weekly and posted his first blog for Entertainment Weekly on July 2, 2008...
wrote that "Fox quietly solidified his status as one of the tube's most reliable and unshowy stalwarts" and deemed him deserving of a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners.-1950s:*1956: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best*1957: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best...
nomination
60th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards was held on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at the newly opened Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst, and Ryan Seacrest and televised in the United States on ABC.The Creative Arts Awards...
. Oscar Dahl of BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
gave the episode a positive review, saying that he was "shocked and baffled" and writing that "Lost … can give me an exciting, well-done episode while making me fear where the series is going … [because] ghosts aren't my thing." The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
's Jay Glatfelter decided that "what made this episode great was the fact that it just contained so much story [with] Jack's flashforward [making] this one of his most interesting 'centric' episodes. … Not only was Jack's story interesting for a change, but the inclusion of [many] other characters … and giving them great story and character development [was also intriguing]." Daniel of TMZ
TMZ.com
TMZ.com is a celebrity news website that debuted on November 8, 2005. It was a collaboration between America Online and Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. However, it is still affiliated with AOL News and has the AOL News logo affixed in...
graded "Something Nice Back Home" as a "B". In his recap, he wrote that "if that's the last we ever see of Claire again, that would be BEYOND awesome."
Robert Bianco of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
praised Fox's performance, saying that it was almost worthy of an Emmy nomination. The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
did not enjoy the flashforwards, commenting that they were "the first of the flashforwards that resembled one of the bad old flashbacks, in that it just reconfirmed character traits we already knew and showed Jack and Kate falling into patterns we knew from the past … I didn't get much from it". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Chris Carabott gave the episode a 7.5/10, making it his least favorite episode of the season. Carabott wrote that "this season [Lost
SyFy Portal
Airlock Alpha, formerly SyFy Portal, is an entertainment news website focusing on science-fiction, fantasy and comic book television series and films.-History:...
wrote that "the pace … was a bit too slow" and "I usually like the Jack-centered episodes, but a bout of appendicitis simply does not make for high drama or stimulating action"; however, he noted that "all in all, this was a good episode, but it was nothing special." Compora praised Fox's increasingly good acting, but said that "this season has seen much stronger lead performances from Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
[in 'The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to Come (Lost)
"The Shape of Things to Come" is the 81st episode of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost and is the ninth episode of the fourth season. It aired on April 24, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada. The episode was written by co-executive producer Drew Goddard and...
' as Ben Linus
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
[as Desmond Hume
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
in 'The Constant
The Constant
"The Constant" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American Broadcasting Company's serial drama television series Lost, and the 77th episode overall. It was aired on February 28, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada...
']." Erin Martell of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's TV Squad called "Something Nice Back Home" "a break after last week's action- and information-packed episode", argued that Rousseau was not given a proper death and enjoyed Rose and Bernard's roles. UGO's Sara shared Martell's sentiments in regard to Rose and Bernard's appearances and speculated that "Something Nice Back Home" would not be enjoyed by fans who like Rousseau or do not like Jack. Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
gave the episode three out of five stars, saying that "the Jack-Kate romantic intrigue is rather dull, while the appendix plot feels like an unnecessary narrative obstacle for viewers to surmount."