OT - Any "Lost" fans?

[Ysabel Kid]

We recorded the series finale episode from last night and watched it this evening. I am going to miss the show. We all watched it - my wife, son, and even my 8 year old daughter. But now all of us are debating what the ending meant.

Anyone care to hazard a guess?

[Hobie]

They were in purgatory, at least at the end.... Benjamin Linus had to spend some more time there, the original "Sawyer" (Locke's father) seems condemned to exist there. Sayid's Nadia married his brother (in other words wasn't meant for him and so forth.

[JReed]

Yep Hobie pegged it. I didn't understand it at first either wife had to enplane it to me after she looked online. Gonna miss the show I even watched it Iraq.

[JohndeFresno]

...all of us are debating what the ending meant.
Anyone care to hazard a guess?

It meant some writers and a lot of actors will have to look long and hard to make that kind of money again!

There were all those unexplained loose ends, like the Polar bear, for starters; the crazy requirement that somebody push a button to keep the world from ending (at the beginning of the series); the necessity of a lighthouse for jumping into everybody's home town to visit monitor them; a wheel that relocates the island; the whispering voices in the trees; Ben following Jacob and seemingly having some of his powers (like teleportation at will into time zones and places) when he never once even met him; and so on. The writers painted themselves into so many corners that it would have taken another year just to put it all together; unlike the Star Wars phenomena that all came together into some sensible conclusions with the "First Three" episodes produced in later years.

So I believe that the writers just did their best to hack out a script that put some type of plausible ending to many of the bizarre journeys into the various rabbit holes. Lots of stuff just hangs there, unexplained. But it was fun, for the most part.

Anyway, Hobie has it right about the purgatory thing; at least in some sense. Ben's sincerity at being forgiven and his stating that he needed to stay there on the bench outside the church gave it away. And all of the kissin' and huggin' as folks reconciled themselves. And then Dr. Shepard's dad walking into the bright light after he made amends with his son; it was clearly an allusion to a Biblical redemption. Did you notice the stained glass window in the background, in which was inlaid every major religious symbol - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, etc.?

[Hobie]

...all of us are debating what the ending meant.
Anyone care to hazard a guess?

It meant some writers and a lot of actors will have to look long and hard to make that kind of money again!

There were all those unexplained loose ends, like the Polar bear, for starters;

They were brought to the island by the Dharma initiative for some experiment.

the crazy requirement that somebody push a button to keep the world from ending (at the beginning of the series);

The button was to manage the extreme electro-magnetic energy uncovered by the Dharma people. Sort of like periodically allowing a certain amount of oil to come up from the bottom of the Gulf so that the well doesn't blow out.

the necessity of a lighthouse for jumping into everybody's home town to visit monitor them;

You have to find your way back.

a wheel that relocates the island;

A more primitive form of the button mechanism.

the whispering voices in the trees;

The dead in purgatory/hell observing the Island residents.

Ben following Jacob and seemingly having some of his powers (like teleportation at will into time zones and places) when he never once even met him;

Ben simply used the mechanisms made available via Jacob.

The writers painted themselves into so many corners that it would have taken another year just to put it all together; unlike the Star Wars phenomena that all came together into some sensible conclusions with the "First Three" episodes produced in later years.

There is already discussion/negotiation for a movie (or more).

So I believe that the writers just did their best to hack out a script that put some type of plausible ending to many of the bizarre journeys into the various rabbit holes. Lots of stuff just hangs there, unexplained. But it was fun, for the most part.

Anyway, Hobie has it right about the purgatory thing; at least in some sense. Ben's sincerity at being forgiven and his stating that he needed to stay there on the bench outside the church gave it away. And all of the kissin' and huggin' as folks reconciled themselves. And then Dr. Shepard's dad walking into the bright light after he made amends with his son; it was clearly an allusion to a Biblical redemption. Did you notice the stained glass window in the background, in which was inlaid every major religious symbol - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, etc.?

I sure did notice the window which I thought made it clear as to what was going on. And remember when Jack is in the cave of the light and in helping Hume out says to him, "see you in another life"?

Lots of different weapons in the series with an attempt at avoiding archaic forms. The Mini-14 was even old school and correct for the period instead of just getting a new one.

[Noah Zark]

I watched the first three episodes the first season and then moved on. Made no sense to me. Now that I read about the final series episode, I'm glad I didn't waste my time all these years.

Not making a comment on anyone's taste in TV programming but mine only. YMMV.

Noah

[rjohns94]

I was lost mid way through the first season, lost interest. I'm not a fan of 24 either. I spend a lot more time reading then watching tv. In the evenings I like to shoot my longbow or competition air rifle and air pistol. those keep me busy enough when Im not riding my mountain bike, hiking, working on garden or on lawn or teaching or ........surfing this site.

[mklwhite]

Notice the window? Yep. The faith/belief being a primary hook upon much of what the series was hung upon.

The Dharma Project - An organized group (religion) trying to understand the mysteries of the island. They ran into more questions than answers and even had rituals (entering the numbers so the world wouldn't end) that they (or at least most) didn't really understand.
Jack - Well educated and scientific oriented guy who lost his belief in his father and more.
Locke - (Whose name was not an accident) Who had miraculous things happen to on the island (could walk again) and became like a shaman walking the path of belief and communing with the island directly.
Linus - No matter how hard he tries he can't get things right because he puts his desires (ego) before anything/everything else.
Most of the others were people who needed redemption. Kate, James, Sayid... Others just needed a second chance. Sun, Jin, Desmond...
And much more.

In "Purgatory" each character needed to get to a point that they could remember what happened before. (Some eastern religions believe that if you die and don't know you're dead you can't move on.) Then they had to forgive themselves and others before being able to move on. (That is why Linus didn't go into the church - could forgive himself- and why there where characters such as Daniel who did even go to the church - they weren't ready on a deeper level.)
The window (as well as the statuary and pictures on the wall) in the church represented that it is belief/faith that is important not the particulars of that faith.
I could go on, but whose still reading at this point?

[Mokwaw]

Watched the first season. "LOST" interest after that. I was "LOSING" interest from the time they killed the charging Polar bear with a 9mm handgun, and on a tropic island no less.

[RIHMFIRE]

i'd rather watch the grass grow....

[Hobie]

It was rather like watching the grass grow.

[Gun Smith]

We keep mentioning the Polar bear. The Dharma people had a zoo on the island. What got the writers in such a pikle early on was the scene of the pilot being ripped out of the plane. They then had to use a "smoke monster" after that to explain what occured. I think the original entity that took the pilot was supposed to be a T-rex or similar physical creature. You rember the trees and bushes being shaken. The "smoke monster" did not rustle the undergrowth as it moved from place to place.

They always were dead so anything was possible and didn't have to make sense. It would be like a nightmare to living persons. You are trapped in some terrible situation you can't get out of. I felt they almost had to be dead from the beginning, or some gaint multiple dream among them.

I loved the series.

[J Miller]

I never watched a single full episode, and only watched some of the last one because my wife was watching it and I had nothing else to do.
The ending left me with the same head scratching migraine as the ending of 2001 A Space Odyssey did. Say WHAT?!?!?


Joe

[Hobie]

I never watched a single full episode, and only watched some of the last one because my wife was watching it and I had nothing else to do.
The ending left me with the same head scratching migraine as the ending of 2001 A Space Odyssey did. Say WHAT?!?!?


Joe

But I'd been waiting since the 1st or 2nd episode for what happened to happen.

[Ysabel Kid]

Yep, I noticed the stain glass window and other religious items mixed all together. I agree with the analysis, though also thought it might all have been the last seconds of Jack's life, a dream as he was dying, after the plane crash. His mind trying to grasp what was happening.

I'm going to miss the show. Few shows make you think anymore. It was a good one.

[Noah Zark]

. . . Few shows make you think anymore . . .

May I suggest "Chopped" at 10PM Tuesdays on Food Network?

Four chefs have three chances to win $10,000 by putting together an appetizer, entree, and dessert from three sets of ingredients, including one or two ingredients per set that are "ringers" and don't belong with the others.

If you're at all interested in cooking, those sets of ingredients the show producers cook up make you think.

Noah

[Griff]

Webster's TV Dictionary:
"LOST"; Pointless TV series that left viewers in a state similar to show's title.

[Hankster]

Nope, know EXACTLY where I am!!

[JohndeFresno]

OK - I just can't let this go. It seems to me that a very bright Levergunner (Hobie) has some answers that he should have written a script for. But I don't buy the fact that the writers had it all figured out, at least while they were pounding this out every week. It's like all those bright young college students (and professors, for that matter) who have re-invented William Shakespeare by reading reams of stuff into some of his prose that wasn't there at all.

So here we go:
[Polar Bears]
They were brought to the island by the Dharma initiative for some experiment.
OK - that one works. I forgot that (with tons of other stuff, due to the confusing and lengthy saga!).

[Button]
The button was to manage the extreme electro-magnetic energy uncovered by the Dharma people. Sort of like periodically allowing a certain amount of oil to come up from the bottom of the Gulf so that the well doesn't blow out.
That is too far a stretch for me, since we are allegedly dealing with supernatural (godlike) powers who could do whatever they wanted, within the limits set by "Mother." How was the island NOT blown up before Dharma?

[Lighthouse]
You have to find your way back.
Same answer, basically, as above - an answer, but too far a stretch. And when Ben, Said, Hurley and all of the other characters flitted back and forth across time and space, there was no hint of a journey to that lighthouse for them to use the mechanism.

[Wheel]
A more primitive form of the button mechanism.
Nope - we're keeping Rubberman busy with all the logical stretches going on. It doesn't work for me; same reason as given above.

[Whispers]
The dead in purgatory/hell observing the Island residents.
Okay - that's two - the Polar Bear and the dead, whispering. But why didn't they whisper in the camp, instead of just in the jungle???

[Ben doing stuff for Jacob, whom he never met]
Ben simply used the mechanisms made available via Jacob.
...And how were they made available, to Ben's knowledge, if he never talked or communicated with Jacob? Nope...

[Writers painting themselves in a corner]
There is already discussion/negotiation for a movie (or more).
Good luck to them. They managed to hook me into the series, mainly because of the novelty of this bizarre series (at first), and then because of the generally excellent character development and acting of the various players; but it wouldn't be worth my time and money to actually step into a car and drive to the theater to see a fictional docudrama on this confusing series. I'm willing to bet that it will be a flop, or one that barely breaks even at best.

[Window with religious symbols]
I sure did notice the window which I thought made it clear as to what was going on. And remember when Jack is in the cave of the light and in helping Hume out says to him, "see you in another life"?
Yup. Right on, there. That's three (3) plausible explanations that actually fly!

[Hobie]

[Whispers]
The dead in purgatory/hell observing the Island residents.
Okay - that's two - the Polar Bear and the dead, whispering. But why didn't they whisper in the camp, instead of just in the jungle???

You don't hear them when you're not alone. Most always people heard them when they were alone. Michael is the one who FINALLY spelled it out when he appeared and said it flat out.

[Button]
The button was to manage the extreme electro-magnetic energy uncovered by the Dharma people. Sort of like periodically allowing a certain amount of oil to come up from the bottom of the Gulf so that the well doesn't blow out.
That is too far a stretch for me, since we are allegedly dealing with supernatural (godlike) powers who could do whatever they wanted, within the limits set by "Mother." How was the island NOT blown up before Dharma?

I guess you don't remember that the "cork" (stone) controlled "it" originally but that Dharma had uncovered the other access points. Those uncovered access points required some sort of control.

[Lighthouse]
You have to find your way back.
Same answer, basically, as above - an answer, but too far a stretch. And when Ben, Said, Hurley and all of the other characters flitted back and forth across time and space, there was no hint of a journey to that lighthouse for them to use the mechanism.

You're just wrapping yourself around the axle on this one. Did you see that thing as it originally stood? Had a ankh in the right hand and was an apparent depiction of Anubis, Egyptian god of the dead.

[Ben doing stuff for Jacob, whom he never met]
Ben simply used the mechanisms made available via Jacob.
...And how were they made available, to Ben's knowledge, if he never talked or communicated with Jacob? Nope...

I was trying to remember the specific time when Ben did meet Jacob but can't. Richard Albert was Jacobs adviser to the leader of "the others" and he was aware of much of what was there, certainly that helped. I think you're just wrapped around the axle about something that might have been ignored. It wasn't as if we saw every moment of Ben's life.

[Writers painting themselves in a corner]
There is already discussion/negotiation for a movie (or more).
Good luck to them. They managed to hook me into the series, mainly because of the novelty of this bizarre series (at first), and then because of the generally excellent character development and acting of the various players; but it wouldn't be worth my time and money to actually step into a car and drive to the theater to see a fictional docudrama on this confusing series. I'm willing to bet that it will be a flop, or one that barely breaks even at best.

I'm not likely to be going to the movie. I rarely do go to movies.

BTW, Hume's reference to others as "brother" and his farewell "see you in another life" were something he used for a long time, at least from the time he was a young man.

Somebody mentioned the hogs disappearing as did the end of Jin's fishing. Those were really only there to show they could feed themselves. Just as they did with the gathering of food or the manna from heaven in the form of Dharma food parachuting into camp. Nobody mentions all of the other of the 48 survivors most of whom were fodder for this or that such as the fire arrow attack. Nobody wonders where the children went. The children might be a subject for the movie.

My wife watched the ending and then asked a couple of questions. She said to me, "well you had that one pegged, didn't you?" I don't think I could have written the scripts though. Frankly there were a lot of little things such that people were looking at EVERY little thing. After the end ABC showed an empty crash site set. People were posting about its significance. The total significance was that ABC (NOT the "Lost" director or producer) showed it during some "empty time".

I think it was pretty well done and it held my interest enough over six years that I kept up with it. Very little does that now and very, very little of that is on TV (except for some news items). Most of my concern is getting my family through this life to the proper part of the next life.

[JohndeFresno]

Well, I gotta admit that either you kept up with the bulletin boards, or really analyzed the show properly, or both. Your answers make sense. And I have to admit that I had forgotten some of the stuff you mentioned in my heading-to-twilight years, exacerbated by the time span involved in watching the series segments and the many digressions involved.

I liked "24" more because it was mental bubble-gum escapism about keepin' them bad ol' terrorists in check, with a super agent who went against all of the office bureaucrat, self-aggrandizing, anal retentive weenies. I'm sure it points back to my 38 years of frustration dealing with these types in government positions and law enforcement, and similarly in my earlier 4 years of dealing with the same types in Army Intelligence.

I abhorred all of the torture stuff that kept showing up in 24, so I'd just fast-forward after recording the series on my DVR. This generation after ours is really sated with violence, isn't it?

[JohndeFresno]

Hobie,

Taking what MikeD said in the "24" thread -
How do you explain Hurley's not losing weight during the entire time he was on the island??

[Hobie]

Hobie,

Taking what MikeD said in the "24" thread -
How do you explain Hurley's not losing weight during the entire time he was on the island??

Mrs. Hobie and I were talking about that. My reasoning is that he is one BIG fella plus, and they showed this, he NEVER missed an opportunity to chow down and never turned down ANY chow. I would think that with all that walking he'd be more toned though... Of course you hardly ever see a ACW reenactor who is 5'4" and weighs 128 lbs...

[Ysabel Kid]

Hobie,

Taking what MikeD said in the "24" thread -
How do you explain Hurley's not losing weight during the entire time he was on the island??

Mrs. Hobie and I were talking about that. My reasoning is that he is one BIG fella plus, and they showed this, he NEVER missed an opportunity to chow down and never turned down ANY chow. I would think that with all that walking he'd be more toned though... Of course you hardly ever see a ACW reenactor who is 5'4" and weighs 128 lbs...

Oh, but he did turn down some food. When Jin made sushi in the pilot episode, he turned it down!

[Hobie]

Hobie,

Taking what MikeD said in the "24" thread -
How do you explain Hurley's not losing weight during the entire time he was on the island??

Mrs. Hobie and I were talking about that. My reasoning is that he is one BIG fella plus, and they showed this, he NEVER missed an opportunity to chow down and never turned down ANY chow. I would think that with all that walking he'd be more toned though... Of course you hardly ever see a ACW reenactor who is 5'4" and weighs 128 lbs...

Oh, but he did turn down some food. When Jin made sushi in the pilot episode, he turned it down!

I forgot about that.... Still, NONE of them lost weight. Look at Rose and Bernard...

[Ysabel Kid]

Yep, the island was magical!

Now, if you can find an island where one could lose a lot of weight without being hungry all the time, I'd gladly get "Lost"!!!