A NOD TO NADIA

In last night's episode of 'Lost' ("Enter 77"), Mikhail Bukanin had a picture of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci hanging on the wall of the Flame station. He named his cat after her, and he shared his birthday with her (November 12th - which apparently is the same birthday as chess champ Mikhail Chigorin).

Her triumph at the Olympics back in the mid-70s made enough of an impact to insure that she must have a televersion as well. Nadia has gone on to appear on many sports-related programs as well as game shows '1 vs. 100' and 'Hollywood Squares'.

But she also appeared as the fictional version of herself in the third season finale of 'Touched By An Angel' back in 1997, "A Delicate Balance". Nadia and her husband, Bart Conner, were going to be covering a major gymnastic event for television and after they left the gym, the angels convened to discuss their assignment.

Nadia also exists in the sketch comedy alternate dimension, thanks to a very funny caricature by Gilda Radner on 'Saturday Night Live'. Twelve years later, Jan Hooks also played her in a "Church Chat" sketch, being chastised by the Church Lady because of her relationship with Conner.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby

"I am cute! Please. Come see me perform all over this country when I come to your city! I'm only fifteen-years-old now, but I have to make all the money I can because I won't be cute forever. Before you know it, I'll grow up to be a big fat Romanian woman with fat thighs and a moustache like my mother! We don't age so good. So, who's gonna want to see me then? It's so hard to do gymnastics while you're arguing with storekeepers. So, see me now, while I'm still darling!"
Nadia Comaneci (as played by Gilda Radner)
'Saturday Night Live'