Lost - The Full Series Thread

[NecroMorrius]

Woof!

[Janson]

So do we think Locke was just a pawn or was he special and 'chosen' by the island still? He knew when it was going to rain etc back in season 1? It's a bit upsetting actually that the real Locke is dead and gone without a proper sendoff..hopefully he'll be resurrected by Jacob next season.

[holly]

Is there any significance to the fact that Juliet was the one to set off the bomb? If it was one of the Losties that did then surely that would have created a paradox (assuming Faraday was right and the bomb eventually cancels the plane crash). If say Jack set off the bomb then the plane would never crash, then he wouldn't have been there to set off the bomb so they would have crashed. Juliet had been on the island all along. Although i'm sure this contradicts something else which I have forgotten. Or Miles was right and they caused it.

Except for the fact that if the Losties had never come to the island then the bomb wouldn't have been buried there because Faraday would never have told them to bury it, and Faraday would also never have told the rest of them to get the bomb and take it to the Swan site and set it off, and Jack wouldn't have been there to harangue them all into doing it.

[Cosmic_Guru]

My girlfriend has decided she now wants to start watching Lost after catching the end of season 5 with me on Sundays, so we're going to start watching all from the beginning in time for the start of next season. I'm actually looking forward to watching from the start to see if there's anything I missed or that ties in nicely with recent episodes

I watched series 1-4 back to back before this latest one started and there were quite a few little things I missed first time around - generally around the significance of Locke in the key story events - the black / white dichotomy early on, the discovery of the hatch, denying the monster - foretelling rain etc.. Ironically I missed the whole impersonation thing this series so I will have to watch series 5 again when it comes out on DVD.

Interesting inteview with the two main writers in this month's Deathray. They strongly suggest that not all loose ends will be tied up e.g Libby's presence in the mental hospital.

[Chaz]

Interesting inteview with the two main writers in this month's Deathray. They strongly suggest that not all loose ends will be tied up e.g Libby's presence in the mental hospital.

Great. Nice one writers. If that's true it pretty much confirms they've been making stuff up as they go along.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Of course they have for the smaller stuff. The big picture seems pretty clearly planned out to some extent from day one, and most of what they have been making up as they go along is consistent and satisfying.

[oli]

Great. Nice one writers. If that's true it pretty much confirms they've been making stuff up as they go along.

I read about that as well, and I think it was more an issue of not being able to get the actress back for whatever reason

[Riccardo]

Great. Nice one writers. If that's true it pretty much confirms they've been making stuff up as they go along.

While that's no doubt true for some elements of episodes, it's not necessarily the case for the overall story arc. Anyway, they also said that with only 17 episodes left, they just don't think it's essential to answer every single little question at the expense of the important ones.

[roskelld]

Lost is going to feel wrong when its answered. It has to leave us with some unanswered questions, just to remind us all that its Lost, and the island rules.

[dr_lha]

Great. Nice one writers. If that's true it pretty much confirms they've been making stuff up as they go along.

The thing about episodic TV is that no matter how planned things are, they clearly have to change the story as it goes along due to factors outside of their control. Actors leaving, etc.

If Lost were a book, the author would simply edit out the Libby flashback when he got to the point where he realised that it wasn't going to get resolved as planned, however TV shows like this don't have that luxury as its already "out there".

Barring writing and filming the whole thing as one big lump, its hard to imagine how any TV show could stick completely to the plan, especially for little thing.

So I guess what I'm saying is, I disagree with your comment!

[zxcvbnm]

While that's no doubt true for some elements of episodes, it's not necessarily the case for the overall story arc. Anyway, they also said that with only 17 episodes left, they just don't think it's essential to answer every single little question at the expense of the important ones.

Not entirely true - Ben was only supposed to appear in about 4 episodes, so they are amending the plot quite a bit as they go along

[Chaz]

I'm aware they had it mostly planned out - certain things from the first couple of seasons which are now starting to get some sort of wider context confirms this. It's just a little annoying when seemingly important things are brought into the equation if we're never going to get any closure on them - see the whole Libby thing, she was built up a lot in the third series and started appearing in a lot of flashbacks. Now it has been completely forgotten. Actress problems or not, there are still ways to resolve this, for me it's too major a part of the story for them to ignore it completely.

Of course if we are talking about far more minor things I can totally understand and empathise with the writers. It's just that the OP of the comment I quoted cited the Libby thing, something I see as quite major and an interesting unresolved thread, as an example, so I presume the writers brought it up in the interview.

[roskelld]

Not entirely true - Ben was only supposed to appear in about 4 episodes, so they are amending the plot quite a bit as they go along

Jack was supposed to die at the end of the first episode (or maybe it was the end of the pilot), that was in the script and set to happen until the last minute.

How things change.

[dr_lha]

Not entirely true - Ben was only supposed to appear in about 4 episodes, so they are amending the plot quite a bit as they go along

Indeed, Ben was originally just supposed to be a regular "other" who was captured, and that was it. However the actor/character was so popular they made him the main other. I'm guessing that the others would still have had a leader, so it probably wasn't much of a stretch in the plot change stakes.

I've heard that Mr Eko leaving was a much bigger problem for them.

[Cosmic_Guru]

Of course if we are talking about far more minor things I can totally understand and empathise with the writers. It's just that the OP of the comment I quoted cited the Libby thing, something I see as quite major and an interesting unresolved thread, as an example, so I presume the writers brought it up in the interview.

Yes, this example was specifically cited in the interview. The other was Kate's plane.

[Tom*]

I read about that as well, and I think it was more an issue of not being able to get the actress back for whatever reason

Yep. Apparently they said (referring to Libby) that getting an actor to work with you again after you killed them off is very difficult. Also, I'm sure they've said loads of times for the past three years that they have had the overall arc set, and the journey inbetween key points has to remain fluid during filming to stay fresh, allowing for DUIs and actors aging too fast. Everything with the time travel stuff seems like a continuity error nightmare unless it's been carefully planned out and monitored. I hate loose ends not being wrapped up, and want to know about Libby - but almost every episode people say everything must be made up! Like there's no middle ground between perfection and made-up bumbling. Don't really see what's changed. I sound like a fanboy now

[Goose]

The Libby stuff was what I was referring to before the finale and posted about it in the spoiler thread, just in case.

Yep, it's not really about the fact that they're not explaining Libby but rather they can't because the actress is unwilling to return to the show after being killed off. I think it's more to do with the fact that she got a DUI and they were quietly told by the studio to kill her off. That's actually the reasons she won't return, not that she's pissed off that they killed her character off.

Eko, I'm positive in the interview were the Libby stuff comes out they mentioned they were planning something more for Eko but the guy simply wanted off the show when his episode count was up. IIRC, he actually did four more episodes than he'd originally been contracted to, but no more.

What's interesting I've found is reading Spoilerfix for Season 5 and seeing a couple of things that back when S4 finished (May O7) were said to be taking place in S5, but for one reason or another never did. Like Libby was set to return in a flashback to explain her story - annoyingly it mentions we'd only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of Libby but I assume that part of the story has either been re-written or given to another character. It also mentions that back then it was assumed that Claire would return to the show toward the end of S5 and again, nothing on that either.

It must be incredibly tough to plan out such a multi-character show without throwing all the other stuff like time travel into the mix. Made even harder by them knowing how the story would end but for the first four years not having a clue when it would end. I think generally they've done a pretty decent job, if occasionally relying on luck coincidences at some points.

I wonder how the leader is elected? In the 70s I'd always assumed it was Widmore who was leading the others but Richard clearly states that he's protecting the leader when he bonks Eloise over the head.

[Goose]

According to E! Online via ABC Upfront, at the moment Lost will return in 2010 on a Thursday night, not a Wednesday.

[dr_lha]

According to E! Online via ABC Upfront, at the moment Lost will return in 2010 on a Thursday night, not a Wednesday.

So I guess they're pairing Fringe and Lost. Good idea.

BTW - I heard that Claire wasn't going to be in S5 at all, but will return for S6. I remember hearing this before S5 started.

[Nespresso]

Ah yeah I actually kind of forgot about her significance in the show. She just disappeared without much explanation did she not?

[MrPogo]

Damn annoyed we've got to wait nine months or so now.

It's going to be especially long for me; I was late to the whole thing, and prior to this season had been watching one or two episodes a week on DVD, catching up just in time for series five airing. It'll be the first time in two years I've gone more than a fortnight without a new episode!

[toonfool]

I'm going to start watching them from the start. How many should I watch per week to finish my run just as the new season starts?

[Sponge]

Except for the fact that if the Losties had never come to the island then the bomb wouldn't have been buried there because Faraday would never have told them to bury it, and Faraday would also never have told the rest of them to get the bomb and take it to the Swan site and set it off, and Jack wouldn't have been there to harangue them all into doing it.

Hell, everything that has happened has been because of the Losties.

Anyway, it would be quite a twist if they did stop the incident and changed time, but becuase they did that they were never there to do that in the first place, hence it happens. They change time and don't come back, which has the effect that the original events DO happen,because they weren't there to change them. So not so much a time loop, more a time figure of eight.

Erm. That makes perfect sense in my head.

Of course, the time travel element has just been a device to let them show the Dharma story and some other island history without using flashbacks. It all happened like that, no alternate time lines or anything, they'll be back to the present soon enouh.

[dr_lha]

I'm going to start watching them from the start. How many should I watch per week to finish my run just as the new season starts?

About 2.7 episodes per week should take you up to S6!

[Mercury]

Ah yeah I actually kind of forgot about her significance in the show. She just disappeared without much explanation did she not?

Yep, I guess they weren't expecting her to get pregnant. Likewise the actor that plays Richard was meant to have a bigger part in S4 but got a role in another show.

[Anne Summers]

The Libby stuff was what I was referring to before the finale and posted about it in the spoiler thread, just in case.

Yep, it's not really about the fact that they're not explaining Libby but rather they can't because the actress is unwilling to return to the show after being killed off. I think it's more to do with the fact that she got a DUI and they were quietly told by the studio to kill her off. That's actually the reasons she won't return, not that she's pissed off that they killed her character off.

Eko, I'm positive in the interview were the Libby stuff comes out they mentioned they were planning something more for Eko but the guy simply wanted off the show when his episode count was up. IIRC, he actually did four more episodes than he'd originally been contracted to, but no more.

What's interesting I've found is reading Spoilerfix for Season 5 and seeing a couple of things that back when S4 finished (May O7) were said to be taking place in S5, but for one reason or another never did. Like Libby was set to return in a flashback to explain her story - annoyingly it mentions we'd only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of Libby but I assume that part of the story has either been re-written or given to another character. It also mentions that back then it was assumed that Claire would return to the show toward the end of S5 and again, nothing on that either.

It must be incredibly tough to plan out such a multi-character show without throwing all the other stuff like time travel into the mix. Made even harder by them knowing how the story would end but for the first four years not having a clue when it would end. I think generally they've done a pretty decent job, if occasionally relying on luck coincidences at some points.

The Eko thing, I've always thought that he was originally intended to be much more important than he was. They really set him up for this big redemptive storyline, so when he suddenly got judged and executed by smokey, seemingly out of nowhere, I was really surprised. I think the storyline was originally going to head towards a clash between Locke and Eko, one representing light and the other dark ... though I'm damned if I know which one was going to represent which.

A couple of things that have been said in the podcasts have concreted this vague thought I've always had in the back of my mind.In one of them, one of the writers clearly states that they wanted bigger things for the character but the actor wanted out, as soon as it was realised that Lost was going to run for 5 or 6 years. I'm kind of gutted about that - you know what would be really interesting? A graphic novel "directors cut" showing how the show would have played out, if certain variables were changed - how they would have wrapped it up if they only got three seasons, how they would have finished Eko and Libby's stories, etc, if everything had gone in their favour. That would be awesome. I might email them and demand it.

[Goose]

A graphic novel "directors cut" showing how the show would have played out, if certain variables were changed - how they would have wrapped it up if they only got three seasons, how they would have finished Eko and Libby's stories, etc, if everything had gone in their favour. That would be awesome. I might email them and demand it.

Add my name to that email as well. That'd be a damn good read.

[DonRumsfeld]

I sure I read somewhere recently that the guy who played Eko missed home too much and that's basically the reason he wanted out. Shame as he was building up to be a great counterpoint to Locke.

[roskelld]

A graphic novel "directors cut" showing how the show would have played out, if certain variables were changed - how they would have wrapped it up if they only got three seasons, how they would have finished Eko and Libby's stories, etc, if everything had gone in their favour. That would be awesome. I might email them and demand it.

In Spanish?

[dunkle]

In Spanish?

Why would you email them in Spanish?