LT172: Biscuits and Gravy Theory

MY BISCUITS AND GRAVY THEORY

I’m sitting down recently to a plate of biscuits and gravy with my better half when the topic of LOST comes up. Yeah, imagine that! Anyway, we are throwing around some ideas on the coming Season and we work up a fairly plausible idea or two. It only seemed right then, that these ideas are called the Biscuits and Gravy Theory. Give it a read and see if any ideas stick to your ribs like my breakfast did:

It begins with the guess that the island travels back in time. Now it must be stated that in the world of scientific theories, this one is far-reaching as far as theories go because most agree you can’t travel back in time due to those paradoxes. But all good entertaining stories require the observer suspend a few facts of life (see Demon Rules in earlier post), so let’s at least agree to form the premise that the island goes back in time.

When we last left Mystery Island, Juliet and Sawyer were sitting on the beach sharing a bottle of rum. Juliet points out to the ocean and Sawyer turns to see the smoke rising from the sinking Freighter. So the first thing we would expect to see is the Survivors discovering that the island has taken them back in time. The wife and I brainstormed on what would be the clues the Survivors would have to observe to draw this conclusion.

To accomplish this, we agreed that we needed first to know what time the island traveled back to. Our list included all the significant events that LOST TIDBITS discussed in our series, A History of LOST:

--Prior to the crash or 108 days
--The transmission begins
--Dharma Initiative arrives
--Some world event like the Cuban Missile Crises
--The Black Rock landing
--The Hostiles arrive
--The Ancients arrive

Each of these timeframes would provide an interesting challenge. For example, we decided to use the 108 day timeframe for obvious reasons. The wife and I then proposed that when the Oceanic 6 returns to the island, that they land on the northwest shore where very little is happening and they are likely not to be discovered. We imagined that the plane was about to crash on September 22, 2004. Our working idea was that the six would position themselves behind a bush and then when the crash occurred then would slip out and take their proper places on the beach. The only challenge would be to duplicate the clothing they were wearing.

This idea falls apart when we realize that all six would be on the plane and a duplicate of their bodies should be on the beach (or in the jungle in Jack’s case) already. Are we suggesting then the Oceanic 6 would dispose of their “twins”? Nah, so we abandoned this idea.

In addition, if the island jumps back 108 days, then not just the Oceanic 6, but all the Survivors might find duplicates falling out of the plane. This could get messy, especially in the case of Claire who would see a pregnant version of herself and eventually give us two Aaron’s.

We then tried to fit the Transmission Date as the “Jump Back Date”. This would put the calendar at April 1988 when Danielle began the 16 year, 5 month S.O.S. loop. It is possible since none of the Survivors would be originally present on that day. Danielle and Alex aren’t a conflict because they are dead already, so they couldn’t see themselves again. In order to avoid paradoxes, this would work. But then we paused and wondered what significance this day would have to the storyline and really couldn’t come up with much. The Survivors could try to alter events like the one where Alex is kidnapped, but then the whole story of Ben being daddy could get messy. Let’s face it, we still don’t know exactly what kind of daddy Alex is inferring.

So we back up to the next event: Dharma’s arrival on the island. We quickly began to discover that this Jump Back Date worked very nicely as none of the Survivors or the Others were present back in late 1970’s that are still there now – no conflicts or paradoxes!

At this point we began then to work on other supporting aspects of this breakfast theory!

Check back on the next post as we continue to work out some details of our ideas. The section will be entitled The B&G Theory.


HINDSIGHT

Season 1, Episode 7: The Moth


Charlie gets hooked on heroin, but begins his withdrawal when Locke takes his drugs away. Jack gets trapped in a cave-in. Sayid tries to locate the source of Danielle’s transmission.

-- Sayid is triangulating the source of the French woman’s transmission. He recruits Kate and Boone to place two of the three antennae. To communicate they will set off bottle rockets to signal to turn them on since the batteries are low.

-- Sayid observes that the odds of surviving this plane crash were astronomical, but yet here they are with barely a scratch.

-- Michael tells Walt to stay away from the cave-in and Walt replies, “Gotta see Mr. Locke”.

-- Sayid is closing in on the transmission when he is struck on the head from behind.


HINDSIGHT OBSERVATIONS

-- Bottle rockets? Sayid attributes them to firework smugglers. Now this makes another object that is needed…and found. Locke gets through security with knives. The US Marshall has a gun with him instead of checked. And now someone gets fireworks on board? Seems a bit too convenient that everything they need is found. One battery is dead so they need a laptop…again, pronto! At least laptops aren’t illegal on a plane.

-- Sayid’s comments push viewers towards a staged crash.

-- Walt’s comment is odd as it doesn’t really flow with the events. And notice the formality of MR. Locke while Walt is treating his father with no respect. Walt senses something in Locke that we might need to notice.

-- Locke knocks out Sayid which we learn sometime later. Honestly, at this point – 8 days – I’m not sure why Locke felt to in touch with the island that he just had to keep everyone put. But from this point forward it became very clear…Locke didn’t want to leave…or did he not want anyone else to leave?


SEASON 5 PROMO

As the season 5 nears, TIDBITS shares one promo picture – not a spoiler per se. Anyway, take a look. You can click on the picture to see a larger version.

The bright light must be related to the island being moved. This makes me wonder if the bright light when the Swan hatch imploded might not have moved the island a few days? Anyway, it appears to be Daniel closing his eyes to avoid the bright light.

Now notice the man in the background. It almost looks like Daniel’s twin. I realize the image is terrible, but if not Daniel the Second, then…do you get a bit of a feeling it is Jacob the First? Can you see it?

I’ve made a mental note to pay close attention to this scene and observe who that person is behind Daniel. If you have ideas, post a comment or drop me an email.


HINDSIGHT CHANGES TO HISTORICAL ODDITIES

I’ve realized that the hindsight feature is just too time consuming to comb through, especially if we ever hope to get through them before the entire series ends. So TIDBITS is going to rename this section to HISTORICAL ODDITIES and we will feature at least one thing from the past that you might have missed or has a different impact now then we when we first viewed the episode. For example:

The painting of Ben’s mother changes. Examine the picture below and notice on the left her hair is over her left shoulder, but on the right it is not. Wouldn’t this be completely wild if…and it is a big if…the entire series was TWO shows. Or maybe two loops. Think of the Sixth Sense and how it fooled you that he was alive, when really he was dead. They did a beautiful job of it. It is one thing to take years to do a two-hour movie. Since lost is 45 minutes times about 90 episodes, well, that would be asking a lot. So then, why change the painting? This show just drives me crazy!

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KC

LT171: Loop, Dude, Loop

TIME LOOP RULE, TIME LOOP RULE

In an earlier post we talked about the island moving to the past and since the physical location remains the same then the island should NOT have disappeared. This indicates the island then moved forward in time, right?

But if we borrow from Back to the Future, then if going back it time altered something – like Marty’s parents not hooking up – then his futuristic family photo began is show people vanishing as well as himself.

Applying this to LOST timing then, if the island did travel BACK in time, then the only way it could disappear in 2004/05 would be if something was altered in the past that caused the island to not be present in 2004/05 on this next time loop. Did that make sense?

If the island does go back in time, then the survivors on the island would find duplicates (or twins) of themselves off island. For example, let’s say we go back to the 1970’s when the Dharma Initiative is first forming. We would have a 25 year younger version of Sawyer under his bed hiding from his angry father while the 35 year old version is frolicking on the island. At first appearance this would seem to violate some laws of physics, but in general, as long as they don’t interact with each other all is well. Think of the two #15 rabbits in the Comic Con video.

Who then would be on the island both in 2004/05 and in the past? To answer we need to know what year the island slips back to because if just a few years ago then Ben is there…twice. This is about to get very confusing and I pray we avoid those “Demon Rules” mentioned in an earlier post!


HINDSIGHT

Season 1, Episode 6: House of the Rising Sun

Sun thinks about a new life. Jin attacks Michael over a watch. Jack sets up camp at the caves.

-- Episode begins with a close-up of Sun’s left eye.

-- Kate and Jack find the two skeletons in the cave. Jack estimates they have been there for 40 to 50 years.

-- Jack finds the white and black stones on the skeletons.

-- Charlie enters the caves and sees the skeletons and blurts out, “Are these the people who were here before us?”

-- John is beginning to take on the role of mentor for Charlie. Charlie believes his guitar is lost forever but John tells him, “You'll see it again.”


HINDSIGHT OBSERVATIONS

-- We’ve noticed the eyes, but this is the first time the left eye was used. The two right eyes have been Jack and Locke. Left for females or is there another reason?

-- The Adam and Eve skeleton are estimated to be in the cave for 40 to 50 years. That makes the year 1954 to 1964. That is right around the Cuban Missile Crisis which I say still has some impact on the storyline.

-- Charlie’s comment about the skeletons being the people before us is odd. Jack gives him a “you’re an idiot” look and it makes me wonder if this has to do with the events at the cockpit, but I can’t make that connection. Instead it seems as if Charlie knows something. Locke asks Charlie a follow-up question about what he meant by that and Charlie stumbles for an answer of “Uh, just, you know, the, the, there could have been people here before us, right?” Jack avoids Locke’s eyes. It almost seem Charlie and Jack have a secret.

-- How does John know Charlie will see his guitar again? Has John already found it and just going to use it as leverage? Or is John acting like he has been here before? John tells Charlie he will find it because he has faith. So, if John is using faith, then how can he be so sure? If he has seen the guitar, then why is he misleading Charlie that religion has something to do with it?


SEASON 5 PROMO

I call this picture “Sun Gun” as it looks like Sun is as ruthless as her father! Or did she join him in his crusade? Could this be Paik versus Widmore and we overlooked that possibility? Why do the Oceanic 6 just need to fight their way back to the island?


FROM THE READERS

There was a comment posted in regard to the Dharma Special Access 7 post this week…when the producers gave the tour there was this dead and alive sections on the wall. A keen reader noticed that Jin was on the ALIVE side!

Nice catch!


HOLE IN THE WINDOW

Imagine my surprise when it was discovered that there was a hole in the window of the swan hatch. Take a look:

With all the free time this off-season, it is amazing what has been observed for the first time. Notice the thickness of the Plexiglas. This window only shows that a recessed area exists where a light bulb is burning. Was this a design flaw since the light bulb would need to get replaced sooner or later? That seems like an odd design idea. Locke even asked about it, but something came up and we never got an answer. But to mention it in dialog means that it served some purpose.

Or could this be The Incident where Smokey smashes INTO the Swan hatch? If so they need some sort of repellant device like the sonar fence, so it stops bothering the button pushers? Hmmm…



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Enjoy,
KC

LT170: Destination Destiny

SEASON 5 PROMO

This is an electronic postcard that you can send to friends from the ABC website as part of the Season 5 promo. It doubles as a teaser for Ajira Airlines which leads to the theme of this post…


SEAT YOURSELF

The recently added website, Ajira Airlines, has been updated and I wanted to keep everyone in the loop. If you check the status of a flight that leaves Los Angeles on January 21, 2009, (the Season 5 show date) at 11:30 a.m. to Guam on Flight 316 you get to the seating chart.

If you book this flight, you can pick your own seat, but they are probably all filled by now. Never fear, you can find some other passengers have booked seats and that is where the fun begins.

If you click on an empty seat one of several Dharma symbols will appear. We have found that 34A is reserved for an Ana Lucia. No way to tell if a user entered a fake name or if the show is happening this way, but her picture pops up, so I’m taking this to mean something.

Jack is in seat 1A. Seat 2A shows a picture of LAX.


Another seat simply returns a code: N824. Ideas? If so, please post a comment.

Another seat shows a new Dharma logo which those who follow my Dharma Special Access postings will recognize this:

WELCOME EMAIL

If you do get lucky to break the code and grab a seat on this flight, you will get an email from the Airlines that read:

“Welcome to the new Ajira Airways. We proudly present a new way to get lost in the world of travel. Visit AjiraAirways.com to book your business, pleasure or fate now! Check back soon for the opportunity to preview new adventures exclusive to our Ajira Airways travelers. The skies have no limit with our new and exciting destinations. Life's a journey, book it.”

By the way, the flight cost $87…any ideas what that could mean? Post a comment if you have thoughts. 1987?


HINDSIGHT

Season 1, Episode 4: Walkabout

We find out Locke is a wheelchair-bound middle manager at a box company, but is now hunting boar for the Survivors. Claire organizes a funeral pyre for the victims of the crash.

--And Our Love Become a Funeral Pyre: Jack, Sayid and Charlie are discussing what to do with the bodies from the fuselage. Jack argues that they should bury them, but Sayid feels they deserve better. Jack comments that they don’t have time for that and Charlie responds, “Really, last I heard we were positively made of time.”

--Say Hello, John: Locke introduces himself to the group by throwing a knife near Sawyer’s head.

--Boaring: Michael, Kate and Locke are hunting for boar and Michael spooks the boar and it rushes the hunting party. Locke comes over to help Kate and calls here Helen by mistake.

--Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Kate tries to climb a tree to position the transceiver and Smokey arrives and gives chase to Locke. Locke and Smokey have a stare down.

--Say What?: Jack is speaking with Rose when he sees a ghost, his father.


Season 1, Episode 5: White Rabbit

Jack goes to retrieve his father in Australia. A survivor drowns. Boone tries to be helpful.

--I Know Something…: Claire faints from lack of water, but someone has stolen it. Locke offers to go look for fresh water and says, “And besides, I know where to look.”

--…You Don’t Know: After Claire faints everyone asks where the doctor is? He has ran off to chase his father’s ghost. Claire wakes up and asks, “Is Jack back yet?”

--Cliff Diving: Jack sees his father’s ghost, chases it and almost dies going over a cliff edge.


HINDSIGHT OBSERVATIONS

--Charlie’s line about “made of time” stood out to me as out of place. It seems the writers were trying to tell us very early that time would be a central theme of the show.

--Locke has a thing for knives from early on and we all know that later he won’t pick the knife from the objects. The only observation I can make is that knives are considered more pure and primitive when hunting, rather than a firearm.

--Locke calling Kate the wrong name of Helen is interesting in that the flashback was shown to us just prior where Helen was discussed. At times in the show it appears the Survivors are actually remembering old memories and someone has to call their name several times to have them snap out of it. But this was during the action of the hunt and it doesn’t seem like a good time to daydream. We were shown the flashback, but it doesn’t seem John should have been thinking about it. This brings to mind Desmond’s flashbacks to military training. Did John actually time-shift?

--Smokey appears when Kate tries to summon help. We know now that it wouldn’t work because of the Looking Glass Hatch, so either they are in Smokey’s territory or it doesn’t have much of a brain. We should also note that Smokey doesn’t harm Locke, so maybe it is dumb! HA!

--This is the first point that a “ghost” is seen by Jack. We know from the Missing Pieces that this ghost was here already. Being that Christian’s body was on the plane we must assume that Smokey has the ability to mimic, replicate or project known objects. However, we also know that it can read minds as in the case of Eko. Keep in mind that Christian wanted Jack to wake up because he “has work to do”, so then why doesn’t it talk to him?

--It should be noted that Christian appears to Jack just out of reach. This is similar to a character of a video game even down to the same clothing. In the video game there is a secret room with a Dharma logo and a computer with the numbers on it. The video game is titled, “Half-Life”. A clue?

--Locke knows where to look for fresh water? Is this a clue they have all been here before?

--Now why would Christian’s ghost have Vincent wake Jack and then lead him over a cliff’s edge? I know if I were in Jack’s place I would want to catch-up with my father and ask a few questions. Was he supposed to realize it was a ghost and say, “I’m not going to chase after you.”? Hmmm…

--How did Claire know that Jack was gone when she recovered from fainting? I am getting stronger and stronger Sixth Sense feelings as I review these older episodes!


NEXT ON TIDBITS

Please NOTE that TIDBITS is going to get published a lot more than the usual Wednesday and Sunday schedule! Mondays are when the Dharma Special Access has been coming, so count on that day. It is getting more and more exciting and there is a lot more discussion happening all over the LOST boards as the new season draws near. But TIDBITS will do its best to keep you in the loop. HA!




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Enjoy,
KC

LT169: Dharma Special Access 7

72 HOURS STARTS NOW

I have received this week's Dharma Special Access email:

Only two and a half weeks until the LOST premiere! Let the countdown begin!

We are back to work and thought we'd break in the new year with a quick tour of the writer's offices and introduce you to the writers working on season five.

Click on the link below and enter the password to check it out.

See you next week!

Best,
Damon and Carlton

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The link: www.dharmaspecialaccess.com
The password: holma


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE THIS WEEK'S ACCESS

It is a behind the scenes look at the writer's offices. I'm hoping for visual clues and sure enough we get one out of the game. Damon and Calton walk into the offices where etched on the front glass is "Building 23".

There is a bit of a joke involved when they introduce the writing staff. Adam is not in his chair but is replaced by a green alien blow-up doll. They brush right by this as if he is there. I couldn't help but wonder just how sci-fi the show will be going!

Another tidbit they reveal is a wall of characters divided by dead and alive and a third column...the undead. For example, we see Yemi on this wall and then the producers mention that Kate's horse can be found here! That horse has always bothered me and now we know!

It is probably one of the least exciting videos they have shared with us, but then as the one who has to come up with LOST TIDBITS at least twice per week, I can understand how sometimes "filler" is used. Unless I've missed something completely. If you notice anything, please drop me a note or write a comment.


DHARMA SPECIAL ACCESS PASSWORDS

We have noticed the passwords for the 72 hour window of viewing time have been a play on words. Here is the list so far:

Week 1: la fleur - means "the flower" in French.
Week 2: qilak - means "sky" in Siberian Yupik language.
Week 3: adella courey - unknown
Week 4: kapalaran - means "fate" or "destiny" in Tagalog language.
Week 5: yksnizdar - Radzinksy spelled backwards.
Week 6: emal - "lame" spelled backwards.
Week 7: holma - a city in India?


NEXT TIDBITS

Check back tomorrow for another edition of LOST TIDBITS!


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Enjoy,
KC

LT168: Temple of Doom

GOING TO THE TEMPLE

It seems that the LOST writers are borrowing from a lot of different resources. Greek mythology tops my list of their main sources, buy Egyptian culture is right there at #2. A little research uncovered some interesting finds.

There have been educated guesses that beneath the pyramids are chambers and even hidden rooms and tunnels underground. An important discovery was the carvings found in a temple known as the Edfu Buidling Text. The story on the wall tells of elders known as the Ancients. Hmmm…

Notice the carving on this temple wall…it should remind you of one of the hieroglyphics seen on the Countdown Clock!

The text also refers to these underground chambers which became to be known as the Hall of Records. Historical writings indicate that these rooms stored scientific secrets and treasures. By studying these writings it was discovered the homeland of the Ancients was an island. The name given in the text for this island is Place of the Well.

Consider that back then the vocabulary was limited. The word, “well”, simply refers to any type of hole or depression. The writings help to clear things up by further describing that this “well” was a sort of staircase that led down into the earth. Now I’m thinking about Ben’s secret room which was entered via a staircase leading down.

The staircase led to a chamber and then a long tunnel (think of the tunnels mentioned on the Blast Door Map). This entire complex was named the Underworld of the Soul (again, the term displayed on the Countdown Clock).

The entire complex was described in the text as a microcosm of the passage of TIME. It contained a large carving which is very similar to the lingam stones of Hindu culture. Wow!

One website describes the rituals conducted here as so:

“The texts say that the mythical characters known as Shebtiu would enter inside the complex and conduct strange rites using held-held power objects (iht), plausibly large crystals or small lingam stones, in order to perpetuate the act of creation in the outside world. The only way these ideas can be assimilated is to liken them to the harmonic convergence events carried out each year since 1987 at key sacred sites around the globe.”

The purpose of these rituals was to affect society’s collective conscience through collective mediation and chanting (reminds me of the Whisperers).

Over time the race of Elders was lost but not before a new group sprang up. This new group was charged with protecting the ancient secrets. They were known as the Watchers (again with the people who Whisper). Legend says the Watchers are who passed on the advanced technology to the Egyptians who used it to build the pyramids.


HINDSIGHT

Season 1, Episode 3: Tabula Rasa

Kate is apprehended by the US Marshall in Australia. Jack finds out about Kate’s past. The Survivors are fed up with the Marshall’s moaning and Sawyer tries to do something about it. John Locke finds Vincent.

-- Kate is looking for Jack at the tent where the US Marshall is at. Hurley sees the gun in Kate’s waistband and gets nervous and runs off saying he needs to get some water. It starts to rain. Kate inches close to the Marshall’s face to check if he is breathing. He wakes and begins to choke her.

-- At another location on the beach, Michael is promising Walt that he will look for his dog as soon as it stops raining. It stops raining.


HINDSIGHT OBSERVATIONS

-- So far, when it rains, Kate is involved and usually scary things are threatened, but nothing results for it.

-- As far as Michael looking for Vincent goes and the rain…it almost seems like someone is listening.


SEASON 5 PROMO

I see a computer monitor on the ground. And there are items next to Daniel’s feet and Sayid’s feet. Plus something next to Jack’s foot.

The buildings outside the window should be a hint of some sort…if you recognize anything, drop me a comment.



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And please leave a comment if you have questions or thoughts on a topic.

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Enjoy,
KC

LT167: A Look Back and Forward

HINDSIGHT

Missing Pieces: And So It Begins

If you haven’t seen this clip, you should go to ABC.com or YouTube and look it up with the above title. In summary, the show actually begins with Christian standing in white tennis shoes and his funeral suit in the jungle. He calls Vincent over and tells him to wake Jack up who is lying in the bamboo forest. The dog runs over to Jack like we saw in the pilot episode.

-- Dead Guy Walking: this might have freaked a few people out had the show really began this way. Of course, we didn’t know Christian was dead at this point, but we might have thought it strange to see a man talking to a dog that seems to be listening.


Season 1, Episode 1: The Pilot

The plane crashes and the survivors tend to the wounded. Jack, Kate and Charlie locate the cockpit. The survivors encounter a monster. Sayid picks up the French woman’s transmission. Sawyer kills a polar bear. Kate is identified as the prisoner.

-- Lights, Camera, Action: I think the opening scene was completely under analyzed as we see the focus on Jack’s right eye and a vodka beverage. When Jack is running to the crash site, he passes a white tennis shoe dangling in the tree.

-- A Needle Pulling Thread: Jack looks for a sewing kit and finds it! Kate then happens to find Jack off from the rest of the survivors and is seen rubbing her right wrist. And she sews, sort of. Jack selects the black color thread.

-- Golden Circle: Rose is seen kissing a gold wedding band that is on a necklace.

-- A Monster in Our Midst: the survivors first hear and see the Monster in the jungle. Everyone approaches the jungle edge except Michael, who backs away. Rose says the sound sounds familiar to her.

-- First Flashback: on board the plane Cindy gives Jack two bottles of vodka, he drinks one and stores the other in his suit pocket

-- Let it Rain: while Charlie, Jack and Kate search for the cockpit it begins to rain…it stops when Kate controls her fear.

-- Pilot Crashes: Jack finds the pilot alive and is asked how many survive. To this Jack says, “At least 48”. Moments later the pilot is dead. A bit later, Kate sees the pilot in a reflection in a puddle of water.

-- Airport Security: Jack needs a blade to operate on the US Marshall…and he finds one! Where is the airline security in 2004 that allows a straight-edge razor?

-- Black and White: Locke finds a backgammon game and explains the history of the game to Walt by saying, “It’s older than Jesus Christ.”

-- Drink Up: Michelle, the airline attendant, offers Kate another beverage but she refuses


HINDSIGHT OBSERVATIONS

-- Christian can communicate with the dog

-- The tennis shoe in the tree seems to indicate that the body of Christian is thrown clear of the wreckage and he has lost a shoe in the process, yet we see Christian wearing it in the Missing Pieces clip. This indicates the island can’t reason quite like a human mind kind…sort of like a Starman who comes to Earth and thinks Ford Focus is a good name to blend in with. The physical body and shoe is present, but the manifestation is fake.

-- The discovery of a sewing kit seems a bit lucky…consider that Claire will search for a more common item, a hairbrush, and not find one.

-- The wedding band might be a suggestion of the “eternal circle” since the show’s original title was to be “The Circle”.

-- Keep an eye on Michael as his reaction to the Monster was opposite everyone else

-- My focus is on oddities like Jack’s answer to the pilot about the number of survivors. We just witnessed what Jack experienced and yet he knows the count of survivors? How did he know this? I’m thinking Jack has done this before!

-- The pilot seemed pretty banged up and had been there in his seat since the crash. But he revives and tells Jack he is fine. Was he healed by the island? Moments later the monster says, “Not so fast, my friend.” Does this mean the healing is controlled by something other than the monster?

-- I wonder if the reflection in the puddle of water isn’t a hint of mirrors and reflections.

-- The backgammon begins a long list of games on the show, but the odd phrasing of Locke caught my eye, “Backgammon is the oldest game in the world. Archeologists found sets when they excavated the ruins of ancient Mesopotamia. Five thousand years old. That's older than Jesus Christ.” Was it bring religion theme into play or some other reason. It just seemed odd.

-- Beverages have been noticed on the show, but no conclusion to date. Kate’s drink appeared to be yellow or orange like juice. Her refusal might have led to her being awake during the crash where she saw the front section break off. Where they drugging these people?

This episode setup a lot of themes for the rest of the series. Of course, we had little clue at the time. It was written by JJ Abrams and then he turned things over to Damon. He did also write the episode premier of Season 3, “Tale of Two Cities”.


JJ IS DNY-NO-MITE!

It occurred to me that we might get some insight to the plot of LOST if we better understood JJ Abrams. I like M. Night Shymalan and notice his “pattern” is observing in his films.

His first film was “Taking Care of Business” with Jim Belushi. It tells of a prisoner and a successful businessman who switches places by a twist of fate. In the end the two become friends and better people.

His next film was “Regarding Henry” with Harrison Ford. Ford is mean and concerned only with his job. An assault removes his memory and a loss of memory. What he learns about his old self he does not like and in the end his relationships and himself become better.

His next file was “Forever Young” starring Mel Gibson. He loses the one thing that matters to him, a girl, to an accident. With nothing to live for he agrees to try a new experiment and is frozen. Soon his chamber is forgotten until two young boys discover it and release him. His body has aged due to stasis, but not before he finds his true love is still alive and has a second chance to marry her.

He does “Armageddon” and then “Joy Ride”. The later is a tale of three youths who tick off the wrong guy and he haunts them. When the bad guy is finally dead a twist reveals that maybe he isn’t.

Abrams moves to TV and does a very un-sci-fi show called “Felicity”. After this comes “Alias” and then “LOST”. More on Alias in a bit.

He does “Mission Impossible III” with Tom Cruise. Then came “Cloverfield”, the Godzilla-like film. He also helped on the script of “Superman Flyby” based on the comic book.

He is producing “Fringe” on FOX and is busy with the 11th Star Trek movie. Currently he is writing a screenplay for Stephen King’s book series, “The Dark Tower”.

Busy man.


ALIAS AND LOST

We can notice a few trends in Abrams other work, mainly a love of science fiction. Especially worthy of notice is the work with King which is referenced in LOST.

11 writers have worked on both shows. 18 actors have worked on both shows.

The main character is Sydney…the name of the originating airport in LOST.

Sydney’s father is named Jack. Her half-sister is Nadia. Her lovers include a Michael and a Charlie Bernard.

“So It Begins” is the title of the LOST Missing Pieces mentioned above as well as 1.2 episode of Alias.

LOST schedule in Season 2 was interrupted due to a two-hour feature of Alias on ABC. The Alias two hour was merely two episodes back-to-back so it may have just been a marketing move to grab audiences both directions. The names of the two Alias episodes were the same names of the LOST episodes the prior and following week.

Driveshaft’s “You Are Everybody” is played in Alias.

In season 4, a scene in Alias is shot in an airport where the public address system announced, “Oceanic Flight to Sydney is now boarding…”

The finale to Season 1 of Alias is the same as Season 3 of LOST…a man is trapped on the other side of a door with a window and is drowning. In both shows a helpless person attempts to free the drowning victim by smashing the window with a fire extinguisher.

Several themes such as numbers, deception, and phrases like “the looking glass” are used in both shows.

I’ve also watched the Fringe and find similar patterns as well.

What might be a possible clue then is JJ Abrams explanation of how he wanted Alias to end. His goal was to make a full CIRCLE and have the show begin back at where it began. The difference would be that the next generation of children would be facing the same challenge. Hmmm…

Also of note is a speech given by Abrams in 2007 where he presented a “magic box” where anything the imagination could conjure up would be in the box. This parallels the magic box on LOST. Abrams was actually given a “magic box” as a child and he claims to this day he has never opened it.


SEASON 5 PROMO

Seven versus six. Aaron is not shown and Desmond and Ben are included on the off-island, city-landscape left side. On the right we only have Sawyer and Locke as “original” survivors.

“Destiny Calls” is the tag phrase for this season and it also happens to be the tag phrase for the new airline that showed up in the latest Dharma Special Access video. See that post for details to the website of the Ajira Airlines.

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Enjoy,
KC