621 replies to this topic

[Irons]

I've seen that several of the threads have disscussed the many parallels to both literature and film in this show,so I thought it maybe fun to have them all togerher in one thread. The comparison to Lord of the Flies is inevitable but I keep thinking about the movie Cube where five people wake up one morning trapped in a Rubiks Cube like machine clueless on how they got there or for what purpose.In the film they never get answers to any of these questions and I wonder if Lost will take the same approach.It would certainly keep up the suspence and keep people coming back week after week hoping to be able to figure it all out.It would drive me insane (as did Cube))but it could be a clever way to extend the show to multi seasons.

Any thoughts?

[queenb]

For some reason, I'm getting Dark City vibes. Which is kind of hard to describe, but was basically about these alien people who created a city, I can't remember their exact motivations, but I know they were trying to figure out how the human mind worked or something. Anyway, it was cool, and the city would shift around and people's minds would get erased and implanted with new memories, and kiefer sutherland was really, really creepy, and I've never quite recovered.

[Cran]

I've heard the producers are saying it's closer to The Stand than anything, which could be fascinating.

[Sandman]

The Stand? So it's going to be Overacting-Palooza, then?

Grrrreat.

[A Big Potato]

You know, when I first saw "The Stand" miniseries when I was a kid I vowed to never go to Las Vegas, since that's where all the evil people ended up. And now, Lost is doing its best to turn me off of flying and desert islands. So there are even more similarities between the two.

[Bruinsfan]

I wonder if there's going to be a benevolent patron figure to counterbalance the monster, if it's all Stand-like?

If flying AirTran and listening to Rupert on Survivor couldn't scare me away from flying and desert islands, I don't think this show is going to have any effect.

[Sandman]

You know, when I first saw "The Stand" miniseries when I was a kid I vowed to never go to Las Vegas, since that's where all the evil people ended up.

I made a similar resolution only recently, since the spate of shows set in Las Vegas (The Casino, Las Vegas, CSI, dr. vegas, and a stunningly unnecessary episode of The O. C.) made me realize it's also where a lot of the stupid people end up.

[A Big Potato]

...it's also where a lot of the stupid people end up.

Hmmm. Interestingly, I didn't finish the rest of my story.

After making that resolution when I was younger I grew up to became something of a gambling addict, and have since been to Las Vegas a number of times...

[Sandman]

Hmmm. Interestingly, I didn't finish the rest of my story.

Oops. Is it too late for me to throw in a "present company excepted, of course"?

[silverwings]

I think somebody compared it to the old Land of the Lost TV series which probably no one but me remembers. Anyway it was about a family stuck on an island with dinasours, sort of Swiss Family Robinson meets Lost in Space meets Jurassic Park.

[WynterWolf]

... with Sleeeeeestacks.

No, you're not the only one that remembers that.

Edited by WynterWolf, Sep 24, 2004 @ 5:32 PM.

[clack]

Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld sequence of novels (1970s). People wake up on the banks of an enormous river, in a strange world, with no knowledge of how they got there. They must learn how to survive, build a society, figure out the rules of the world in which they find themselves, etc. Made into a mediocre SF Channel "telefilm" a few years ago.

Anyway, the Cube, Dark City, et al are part of a sf sub-genre, the ontological mystery. What is the nature of the mysterious world in which they find ourselves, who's pulling the strings,etc? And I agree, this ontological mystery is part of the Mulligan stew of tropes and genres that is "Lost".

[chilixx]

silverwings

I think somebody compared it to the old Land of the Lost TV series which probably no one but me remembers. Anyway it was about a family stuck on an island with dinasours, sort of Swiss Family Robinson meets Lost in Space meets Jurassic Park.

WynterWolf

... with Sleeeeeestacks.

No, you're not the only one that remembers that.

Hell, yeah! I don't think I want to know anyone who doesn't remember Land of the Lost--of course, it is pretty old, but still. Classic. Sleestacks...classic.
Was that Syd and Marty Krofft? Geniuses. Acid-tripping geniuses.

At any rate, one of the writers, acc. to an Ain't it Cool News article, said there are definitely no dinosaurs. But it does have that (possible) alternative universe/where the hell are we and what are these creatures vibe.

[louveciennes]

Was that Syd and Marty Krofft? Geniuses. Acid-tripping geniuses.

Indeed it was, and indeed they were. Is their old stuff on DVD yet?

[silverwings]

Indeed it was, and indeed they were. Is their old stuff on DVD yet?

According to Amazon they have 4 episodes of Land of the Lost on DVD, H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monster. Sigh. Now I want them. JJ's gonna drive me to the poor house.

[Irons]

According to Amazon they have 4 episodes of Land of the Lost on DVD, H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monster. Sigh. Now I want them. JJ's gonna drive me to the poor house.

H.R. Pufnstuf
Who's your friend when things get rough?
H.R Pufnstuf
Can't do a little cause you can't do enough!

Once upon a summertime
Just a dream from yesterday
A boy and his magic golden flute
Heard a boat from off the bay
"Come and play with me, Jimmy
Come and play with me
And I will take you on a trip
Far across the sea"

I was in love with Jack Wild. Then I grew up and found Donny Osmond.
On topic, I don't think the monster is a puppet.

[HavingFun]

When there was just the single thread for Lost, I mentioned a sequel to Mutiny on the Bounty, which tells the fate of the mutineers. They (along with some Polynesian men and women) travel to an isolated island where they burned the ship, stranding them on the island. Twenty years later, there are a lot of children and all but two of the women are still alive, but only one man survived. The book is Pitcairn's Island, and the story might have influenced Lord of the Files.

[mara]

Indeed it was, and indeed they were. Is their old stuff on DVD yet?

According to Amazon they have 4 episodes of Land of the Lost on DVD

Actually, Rhino released the Land of the Lost: The Complete Season One back in June of this year, and season 2 will be in stores this Tuesday. The S1 set is loaded with features (10 commentary tracks!), and though I haven't given in to the temptation yet, it's in my wishlist.

Topic...I hadn't thought of the Dark City angle, or The Stand, but I loved both of them, so, bring it on, JJ.

[thalion]

Is the world "classic" in the thread title just to keep me from talking about how this show is so very Jurassic Park-esque? Because, if, so, you have earned a big "heh".

Edited by thalion, Sep 26, 2004 @ 4:04 PM.

[Irons]

Who says Jurassic Park is not a classic?

Someone in a different thread mentioned a book The Life of Pi .I have not read it,so can anyone fill me in? Thanks.

[JDG]

The Life of Pi is the story of a boy (Pi) who was on a ship that was carrying zoo animals. The ship went down, he ended up in a life boat with a tiger (and a zebra, hyena, and gorrilla I think - they didn't last long). Pi and the tiger co-exist on the life boat...

[JDG]

funkyfeet, for me it was more a choice of what did I want to believe - the hard to stomach or the fantastical.

If the Lost are ever found (last episode?) will their stories be similar?

[BigErn]

In several threads, there has been discussion of Locke (Terry O'Quinn) and his orange peel. So far, I've only seen one brief comment on the obvious reference to The Godfather and Marlon Brando's death scene with the kid. That scene had him using the peel-laced smile to seemingly be playful...only to end up freaking the kid out. It was symbolic of the inner monster that Don Vito always tried to keep hidden from view. He was a dark man who maintained a placid exterior. Then in this innocent, seemingly jovial moment with his grandson, he slipped up and let the scariness peek out.

Maybe I'm the only one to see the parallel, but it hit me immediately and quickly made Locke one of the characters I want to keep an eye on. JJ usually telegraphs that stuff with purpose.

Edited by BigErn, Sep 27, 2004 @ 1:06 PM.

[clintelliott]

I put this in the Spoilers on accident but I was reminded of Shakespeare's The Tempest through the whole thing. No more so than when I saw Dom's character looking at his hands and because I can't remember exactly, was either writing or had already written the word FATE on the tape on his fingers. In The Tempest it is Fate, along with a little help from Prospero, that brings his enemies, among others, to his island.

Edited by clintelliott, Sep 27, 2004 @ 1:31 PM.

[AmandaFM25]

I saw Dom's character looking at his hands and because I can't remember exactly, was either writing or had already written the word FATE on the tape on his fingers.

Interesting you should mention that. I was wondering if that was actually a stage direction for Dom's character or not, given Dom's propensity for writing on his hands/arms.

[5StatesAway]

You know, when I first saw "The Stand" miniseries when I was a kid I vowed to never go to Las Vegas, since that's where all the evil people ended up. And now, Lost is doing its best to turn me off of flying and desert islands. So there are even more similarities between the two.

Ok good, I'm glad I'm not alone in the now totally officially swearing off planes forever thing.

[Megamir]

The Stand? So it's going to be Overacting-Palooza, then?

Ah, but the book is so, so, so much better than that ridiculous mimi-series - if only because Molly Ringwald is not in my line of vision while I'm reading the book! I think we've already started to see the division of good v. evil in the first half of the pilot episode.

Lost is also rather reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, but perhaps only because Meriadoc Brandybuck is in both. Yes, I realize it is a bad joke, but I'm actually quite surprised I was the first one to post it!

Ok good, I'm glad I'm not alone in the now totally officially swearing off planes forever thing.

I've finally started to be able to fly again after the beginning plane explosion scene of Final Destination, and now this! I hear travel by train is quite comfortable.

[Lauri]

Maybe I'm the only one to see the parallel, but it hit me immediately and quickly made Locke one of the characters I want to keep an eye on. JJ usually telegraphs that stuff with purpose.

BigErn, you weren't the only one to see the parallel between O'Quinn's orance and Vito Corleone. It's immediatly what I thought of when it happened. But I'm also a big ol' nut for The Godfather so I see references all the time.