LOSTcasts 21: Ready for LOST

We're back after our week hiatus, and ready for the new episode of LOST this coming week. In this episode, we talk about people's reactions to the erratic schedule of LOST, discussions about comic book and Sci-Fi influences on LOST including "The Prisoner." We also talk about some inconsistencies with Claire's abduction, as well as some more analysis about "the whispers" you may not have heard. And as always, we have plenty of spoilers and LOST links.

Download podcast #21 here

Links related to this podcast:
Lindelof, Loeb and Marx at the comic convention
Wikipedia entry for The Prisoner
Listener suggested - Y: The Last Man
In-depth whisper thread on The Fuselage

LOST Links:
Official LOST soundtrack
Unlocking the meaning of LOST book
Review of above book by The LOST Blog
"Monty" comic strip with LOST plot
Jack & Sawyer's silent film
LOST meets MacGuyver

Other links (important to remember)
Photo of Claire's boyfriend's paintings
Mural analysis

Spoiler Links (only click to be surprised!)
Link 1, Link 2, Link 3

Comments

[lyle]

i no you guys read the forums, but it would be great if you could read that lost book and share the highlights of it with us. keep up the great work.

[John]

Putting in on my Amazon list of things to buy. Make sure you check out the review of the book on The LOST Blog... it should give you a good lowdown on it. The link is in this post.

[Matt Lafferty]

Hey guys... listening to the podcast now... concerning a general entertainment podcast over the summer, sounds good to me! One suggestion, which may be less fun for you guys--perhaps do a season 1 series of podcasts. It wouldn't necessarily need to be one podcast per episode.

As for the issue of avoiding all the breaks over the season, perhaps ABC should look at what doing what Sci-Fi did with Battlestar and what essentially CBS does with a September-May run of Survivor: half of the season, then a long break, then the other half. If we're looking at 22-24 hours of episodes per season, I'd be cool with 11 or 12 from October to December then 11 or 12 from March to May. And in theory with a little juggling ABC would run the fall half again in the winter and pick up new viewers.

[Carl, UK]

Hi guys, great Podcast again. always sounds like you guys have such fun doing these things, and thanks for taking time out from your life to do this for us.

As the last poster said doing a season one podcast would be great, i have always thought 'i wonder what they thought and made of season 1' again as the last poster said it does not have to be every week just one long Podcast going over any question you or us have over season 1.

Again thank you for such a podcast really look forward to it after seeing each epsiode of 'Lost'

Carl in the UK

[riverfr0zen]

Great cast, thanks. A general topic podcast, perhaps with topics (maybe loosely?) tying into Lost would be nice during the season break.

Found it interesting you brought up the issue of 'who has found redemption and will be killed off', because thought of the same thing while watching Maternity Leave - particularly the scene at the end, where Claire is telling her baby how she was wrong to want to give it away, and that she knows they both belong together now. Hmm. Sounds like a redemption from her issues... :)

Also, that could move the plotline along, because it would then mean that Aaron would indeed have to be 'raised by another'. This could also make room for another baby on the island ... and may bring more meaning to the conversation b/w Claire and Sun - where Sun says 'A mother should never leave her child', and Claire replies 'Have you ever been a mother?'.

Thanks again.

[Sam]

Ok, just noticed something while watching some episodes of LOST, and what I noticed was that everytime that a....for lack of a better word "vision" appeared, they were dressed in black. If you are confused about what I'm talking about, an example was Jakcs dad, or the Horse that Kate saw, or Walt. Did anyone else notice this. And this is not so random because the black whisp of smoke was...well, black. Just puttin that out there.

[henry gale]

Hello guys,

Was I not the guy that was killed by Sawyer in Austraila? (Same Actor?)

[henry gale]

Hello guys,

This is Henry Gale.
Was I not the guy that was killed by Sawyer in Austraila? (Same Actor?) What am I doing on the island? Exact revenge on Sawyer?

[thinbluemime]

LOST The TV Series: Disney 'LOST' it Again

A Blog from Jan 1, 2006 concerning Hidden Messages..WTH audio samples.
Samples captured with ipod held up to pc speaker

[elgato]

Try this, guy with the schedule ideas...

2006-2007 Lost Season Schedule
Not many interruptions

1) 01 November
2) 08 November
3) 15 November
4) 22 November
5) 29 November
6) 06 December
7) 13 December
8) 03 or 10 January
9) 17 January
10) 31 January
11) 07 February
12) 14 February
13) 21 February
14) 28 February
15) 7 or 14 March
16) 21 or 28 March
17) 04 April
18) 11 April
19) 18 April
20) 25 April
21) 02 May
22) 09 May
23) 16 May
24) 23 May

[Todd]

Hey guys,

Any comments on the theories that Entertainment Weekly put out a few weeks ago?

Just wondering...

[Sobaika Mirza]

Please... don't depart from Lost. I like the reading of some of the literary references and dissecting them, but going beyond that will just make me tune out for a couple of months.

[Lithaborn]

Um, Sam, sorry to burst the bubble, but whenever Shannon saw Walt, he wasn't wearing black. The last time she saw him, he was wearing beige. In fact, I don't remember Walt wearing black at all!

As for scheduling - if the guys on "24" can do an uninterrupted run for 20 weeks, why can't "Lost"? I'd be happy to wait until January if it meant we didn't have six week breaks every-damn-where.

[Raj]

hey there.

I prefer lost spread out over the year. although i think they should take fewer breaks and make them longer......like a 7 week x'mas break and a 4 week spring break. Which coincide with the popular holiday times so i dont have to worry about missing like 3 episodes .

Secondly, would like a general podcast during the summer. I love the podcast about Lost, but u guys are pretty kool and into a lot of things. I don't know what topics you can talk about, although from lost we can enter a large relm of things to talk about.

Anyways, good job take care and i'll probably get back to u on friday with my crazy theories about the latest episode.

i still say that the island was constructed and eko was cutting down the "Made in China" trees

Stay Lost.

[Carl, UK]

I have an idea for a podcast you guys could do while the break is on, my thought is.. why not do a Q&A?, we could ask any questions we have about the show like 'where did Jack's dads body go?' and the Loastcast team could give there idea's on what they think, would be great to hear there take on the whole of Season 1 & 2 Q&A

Just a thought?

Carl

[Nels]

Just a few comments re: season breaks. Normal TV seasons do run 24 episodes and they try to end in May because of sweeps. For Lost, it unfortunately has competition in its time slot sometimes and I think ABC has been scheduling it's breaks around Fox's juggernaut "American Idol" as a result. These breaks give ABC some chance to assess AI's result's show ratings. Also gives ABC the stretch to get the last episodes to the final stretch in May.

I agree that maybe fewer breaks but a longer break could be better, especially with these one or two week breaks but the programming people probably have to figure out what works best given continuity and competition.

Hey guys, I also think there are 9 more episodes to go in the season (assuming they follow the 24 episode format like they did in season 1). So, it could still be possible that they'll do a two hour finale on the 24th or that April 12th might not actually be a repeat (IMDB is reporting 4/12 as a new episode - but IMDB isn't always accurate, as we all know).

Keep up the good work.

[Darragh]

Well, quite an awesome edition this week, really enjoyed it..
as for suggestions for summer..
How about an IRC Channel?
Its free...
All you need is mIRC and an internet connection, you could even hook up the site with a "java irc applet" where people can just click the link.
It doesnt need to LOST based, It could be about all sorts.
Thats just my suggestion.
:)

[Andrew]

I love the show, but I'm not a fan of the idea of venturing into pop culture during the summer. I just don't think I'd listen. But who knows? I could be wrong.
Anyway, here's an idea for a future show or segment: a gigantic bitch fest! We've all got things on the show that bother us...(for me, one would be the way certain reveals are never mentioned again...like why the hell haven't we had another encounter with the security system? Why isn't it being talked about? Based on previous experience, I'm betting that there will be no discussion of theatrical glue or other oddities of "Maternity Leave" in the upcoming episode.) Why not encourage listeners to post their frustrations or phone them in to you and just air it all out. Other listeners might have good explanations or answers for dissatisfied viewers,and it's always healthy to talk, right?
Anyway, you guys do a great job. Bring back Matt Jones!
Also: Henry Gale, you were not the guy Sawyer killed in Australia. First of all, there is NO physical resemblance, and second, how in the hell could you be, if Sawyer KILLED you?
(That would be another thing that bothers me about the show...stupid fans who reach SO SO SO SO SO hard for some sort of clue. Like the people who found a "Swan tattoo" on Henry Gale's neck.

[Andrew]

Also, I just wanted to say that you podcasters do a great job. I've been listening since about Podcast #8, but haven't posted too much.
I really appreciate all the time you guys put into putting out such an informative and entertaining show!

[lithaborn]

OK, I've listened to the 'cast now!

I'd be quite interested in the suggestion someone made that you could do some sort of in-depth investigation into one of the influences - it could be interesting to the Lost fans, but also take in tons of pop culture and science geek stuff all at the same time.

Excellent ep this time guys. Looking forward to Wednesday now...

[Carl, UK]

Has anyone heard the new offical Podcast (i think ABC should get in touch with the Lostcast team to find out how a real Podcast is done) they where talking about Dreams! and they said that dreams are going to play a part in the upcoming episode's, Any thoughts on this?

[Rex]

Hey guys, I love the podcast because of your depth and knowledge. I am sure it takes lots of preparation to make each episode.

As for the future of the podcast during the break, what about doing audio commentary for past episodes (like season 1)?

Also, I would love to hear about your guy's view on different topics like movies, etc... but that really should be another podcast.

[matt beale]

Anyone listened to the official podcast this week? How stupid where the 'viewer' questions!??!!? The Cave one has already been asked on the podcast, and the one about the Milk - how long ago was that!!!!

Waste of time (question bit anyway!)

[Bryan]

Thought everyone might like this link it is great for anyone who kind of missed some of the great graphic novels of the past and want to catch up: http://comics.ign.com/articles/646/646012p1.html#other

[Mark B]

For the Podcast over the summer stick to Lost or Lost related stuff. Sorry I'd not listen to anything else -- just my opinion.

As for the breaks they drive me nuts. I'd prefer the '24' approach. Being from the UK originally this is the usual format -- no breaks unless there is some major news/sports event. A 24 episode season would last 26 weeks max. Sadly US tv seems to be driven by one thing MONEY. It's all about "sweeps" weeks. ABC are on the verge of killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

On a different note -- LOST is not a formulaic show that you can just pick up from any episode. Imagine trying to pick up the story line from today. New viewers will only be drawn to the show over the summer when they can watch the DVDs.

[Bryguy]

Any of you see "Desmond" show up on 24 this week?

[matt jones]

Andrew,

Your check is in the mail.

Bryguy,

Saw Desmond on 24. Turns out he's German. I kept waiting for him to tell Jack to, "Drop the gun brutha!" That actor is building a whole career around Mexican standoffs.

Mark B,

US TV is money driven, but at least we don't have to pay for a TV License like the UK.

[biolite]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned already but the actor who plays Zeke/Mr. Friendly/The bearded man was listed in the Imdb.com credits for Exodus part 2. Does anyone remember seeing Zeke anywhere in Exodus??

Yes, a big thanks to you guys for doing the podcast. It's a great way to get through work on Monday ;)

As for the summer I like the idea of Season 1 podcasts. However, I think you guys should be sure to take a break yourselves and enjoy your summer, we'll all be back here when season 3 starts.

[Michael Box]

Regarding the summer...maybe doing a once a month or twice a month podcast reviewing the 1st season (4-6 episodes at a time...i dunno)...i do love some of the insight you guys have and share with us, but doing a new podcast on pop-culture type stuff just seems a little much...maybe we should wait till the season is over, there might be a need for a recap of this season as well, there seems to have been a lot of ground covered so far and we are only 2/3 through...

by the way: do you all meet in the same room for your recording or are you using some sort of interenet phone? I am producing a podcast about culturally relevant religion and would like to have a few "interviews" but can't seem to find an easy way to do long-distance interviews....thanks if you can help.

[Matt Lafferty]

Biolite,

Zeke makes a subtle entrance in Exodus Part 2 when the boat shows up and a scruffy, bearded back-lit guys says, "Hello, I've got a beard," then adds in a sinister tone, "And we've got to take the boy." Michael kind of pauses, his smile not quite fading but showing his is-the-sky-falling moment and I think musters a "Huh?" to which Zeke says, "Yeah, we've got to take the boy," while stroking his beard in an evil way (or perhaps he was adding glue?)

Anyway, my additions aside, Zeke is the guy in the boat who says they need to take Walt.

[Biolite]

HA HA HA, yeah oops, key plot point of the second season. Good thing my memory is so sharp ;)

[CarrieB]

Thanks for providing your podcast. I really enjoy it and appreciate the clarity with which your present your content. You mentioned podcasting during the summer hiatus and the possibility of using the time to review pop culture references, literature and other loosly-related material. I would personally love it. I love that podcasting gives me an opportunity to hear and experience new things, ideas and perspectives. I like your style and enjoy learning from your perspectives. I would welcome more opportunities to explore through your research. I'll keep listening!

[GBCh]

A general podcast for the summer is a great idea but I would prefer it to be devoted just to sci-fi literature and comics rather than general popculture and music.. It would make sense if you talked about less popular stuff becouse all the top popular stuff is already covered by other media...

[Cameron]

I would like to add my vote for some podcasts over the summer. I would personally listen to your style and format of podcasting on pretty much any topic. In fact this is the first podcast that I have followed consistantly.

When I got into it I thought, 'hey there must be a bunch of other great podcasters out there as well'. Guess what - there aint! I mean the quality of other podcasts (be they Lost related, other TV show related or whatever) is really, really crap.

So, I think the formula and team (but it must include Matt Jones) will work well on other topics. I think you mentioned that John was not so keen on branching out. I would just say that breaking up the team would be a negative - especially John - he is such a big part of what makes the poadcast work so well. I hope that if you do go ahead, you keep the same branding, team and cool intro music!!

The only other point I would make is that Lost is a major focus for everyone here and it would be a shame to put the work in and not get at least a reasonable following because the topic don't hold a broad enough appeal for the current listener base.

Can I suggest that you put up a few reaonably specific ideas and run some polls. Maybe get a poll feature on the site - just rip the HTML code off 'The Fuselage' or something, they won't notice :) so you can work on the strongest candidates.

Also, regarding a message board on the site - if at all possible, please retain the current format. It really is remarkably flame and spam free for an unmoderated site and it is so much easier to use than a full on message boards where you wade through screens to get to a thread, only to find it full of bump posts, or idiots posting junk like 'Sawyer is kewl' or 'Ana Lucia, I would so totally hit that!'

(OK, I confess, it was me who posted the message about AL - but you get my point).

As always, thanks for all the hard work keeping us entertained.

[So]

I definitely think Claire had been examined by Ethan before the crash, because of the promblem with the time line and because the guys shirt changed from a long sleeve shirt to a golf shirt during a couple of the clips.

[Mark B]

Matt

Listening to the official podcast it's clear (to me at least) that the guys admit it's all about the money and ABC call the shots. I got the impression that they would prefer a more "weekly" nature to the show but they realise that they work in an industy that is profit driven so have to live by the rules -- sweeps weeks are the be all and end all of the TV industry. I don't mind the odd week off but this continual two new, two re-runs, three new, two re-runs just breaks the flow up too much. At the moment ABC have a "cash cow" with LOST, once ratings drop below a certain level LOST will move to another time/day slot then be killed off. In my nightmares I imagine an ending with a black screen and white writing saying "The survivors of Oceanic flight 815 never got home".

Say perhaps you guys could discuss worst possible endings to LOST in the next podcast.

It is rare for non-formulaic shows to last as they can't easily attract new viewers like sit-coms, CSI, ER etc. which you could pick up after watching a couple of shows. I predict LOST will end in four or five seasons (total). I thought I read somewhere that JJ or Javi said they thought it would end as people would not stay interested for more than 5 seasons.

Yes in the UK you have to pay to get a licence (really surprised you knew that) -- I think it's like $200 -- this money goes to the BBC who make a vast number of excellent non-mainstream shows that would simply not get made by commercial tv. You should check them out sometime many are shown on Discovery, PBS etc.

Not wanting to sound sycophantic (sp ?) but I prefer the podcasts when you are there you definatly add something (I'm being serious). Can you make some more appearences ?

Mark B.

[Jenni Lou]

Hey guys. Just wanted to add my two cents about the summer hiatus....I'm all for a summer podcast and I leave it up to your own discretions and sensibilities....do whatever you want. I listen to a handful of podcasts and one of my favorites is Urban Coffee. I can't find another quality cast similiar to it. It's really fun to just clean the house or take a drive and listen to some chill guys chat about politics and internet and whatever they want. I'm also down for just going more in depth on the literary references on Lost...like a book club where we can all sort of catch up on the readings that have been presented and perhaps learn about a new facet to the overall narrative of the island story.

As for the suggestions that y'all go back and look at season one a little more discerningly....I don't know about that. I think most fans (especially ones who would be listening to this podcast) are aware of the easter eggs and references...and you guys have done a good job of incorporating season one in your season two episode discussions. I'm afraid rehashing season one would just be boring....unless it can be examined in a new way in light of all the new "truths" we now know...but even that would be a summer of pure speculation.

Any way it goes though, I'm in for the summer. :)

[The Andrew]

As far as the summer podcasts go i'm down with whatever you guys decide to do.

[Matt Jones]

Thanks for the props Mark B. I'm always ready to play, but it's John, Brian and Robert's sandbox.

The commercial aspect of US TV has its downside, but it is getting better. Especially with market segmentation. Networks are beginning to realize that a show doesn't have to pull huge ratings to be a commercial success. Lost may not deliver as many viewers as CSI and it's many clones on a weekly basis, but the audience it does deliver is an affluent one that advertisers seek out. Lost is a big ratings success though, so a better example would be a show like Scrubs. Not a huge audience, but a desirable one to marketers. This trend bodes well for smarter network fare having a place amongst the American Idols and Extreme Makeovers.

I love a lot of the BBC programming, but as a heartless free market American capitalist swine the idea of being forced to pay for a TV License chaps my liberty bells. I understand that in theory it funds programming, but I imagine it also funds a lot of pointless bureaucrats as well. Shows like the Office could thrive without being subsidized. And over here there is always HBO, Showtime and other cable nets that use the subscription model to fund great programming. So even a show like Arrested Development can find a home and greatness like the Sopranos, Deadwood and Rome can be developed. And the best part is I can choose to pay for them or not.

Speaking of British imports. Have you caught Extras on HBO?

As for the summer cast, I think a good idea would be a Lost book club. We could read all of the referenced works of literature from the show and then discuss their possible relationship to Lost.

[John]

I'm definitely down with digging into the LOST literature over the summer.

[Kathy aka Fangirl]

My two cents:

We have three and a half months (June to mid-Sept) until the next season. My vote would be doing podcasts maybe twice a month.

First month talk about season one - things we now know, things we still don't, cover new theories now that the second season is over.

Second month, cover all the books mentioned and literary references etc. Maybe have your listeners do book reports and post them on the site and cover the highlights. No need for you guys to do all the heavy lifting.

Third month, cover the pop culture type stuff, but you can tie it in. For example, use the people who work on Lost as leaping off points. Jeff Loeb - huge in comics. Paul Dini - created Batman the animated series not to mention the rumor he might to a comic adaptation of Lost. Fury (season 1 writer) - worked with Joss Whedon and Tim Minear.

Then for the weeks before - do predictions, new theories that may have popped up over the summer, etc.

That way we can all get our Lost fix. You guys can take a break when needed. You can go off topic, but not so far that you lose your fans who listen for the Lost stuff.

[Matt Lafferty]

I just wanted to echo what Cameron said about the quality of the podcasts that you guys do. I completely stumbled across this site, and after listening to 19 episodes in about a week and a half, I saw what else was out there... and... uh... let's just charitably said that I ain't looking any more; I just come here.

[The Andrew]

Yeah i also failed to say that the podcast that you guys do is by far the best i have heard. I only listen to this cast and the offical podcast, and over the summer i will need my lost fix so you dudes better not go anywhere.

[Cameron]

I'm with Kathy aka Fangirl - that would be a fantastic schedule to get us though the summer (well, winter for some of us). Are two podcasts per month (give or take) possible?

And getting back onto the hard core Lost track in the weeks leading up the start of season 3 would be really good.

[Michael Box]

just found this on abc's message board...it is a timeline that combines the fusie's and the tailie's from day one to day 53. although we are a little past day 53 now it is interesting to check out...there is also a bit of "chronological history" at the beginning of the thread.

http://forums.go.com/abc/primetime/lost/message?messageID=10747063

[Michael Box]

I have a few questions about Sawyer. Did anyone see any connection to the Judy Blume book, "Are you there God it's me, Margaret?" that Sawyer is reading. Are we to think that Sawyer is so bored that he is reading Judy Blume? Maybe he just hears someone coming and grabs the first book he sees in order to look like he isn't really up to anything. Why have we not had any friction over the fact that he still has the majority of the fire-power on the island? I don't trust Sawyer any more than I trust Gale.

[Michael Box]

btw, here is the Amazon.com synopsis of the book by Judy Blume:

" If anyone tried to determine the most common rite of passage for preteen girls in North America, a girl's first reading of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret would rank near the top of the list. Judy Blume and her character Margaret Simon were the first to say out loud (and in a book even) that it is normal for girls to wonder when they are ever going to fill out their training bras. Puberty is a curious and annoying time. Girls' bodies begin to do freakish things--or, as in Margaret's case, they don't do freakish things nearly as fast as girls wish they would. Adolescents are often so relieved to discover that someone understands their body-angst that they miss one of the book's deeper explorations: a young person's relationship with God. Margaret has a very private relationship with God, and it's only after she moves to New Jersey and hangs out with a new friend that she discovers that it might be weird to talk to God without a priest or a rabbi to mediate. Margaret just wants to fit in! Who is God, and where is He when she needs Him? She begins to look into the cups of her training bra for answers ..."

[Matt Jones]

Good solid episode. Might seem kind of pedestrian on a first glance, but if you dig a little bit you can see the writers flexing their muscles and having a little fun with the audience.

The Sun and Jin intro was a textbook example of how to pull the emotional bait and switch with a scene. We think it's all sweet and romantic and bam with one sentence the mood completely shifted. It reminded me that the writing above all else is what drives Lost.

The best joke of the episode by far was Sawyer Reading "Hello God." This worked on so many levels. First, it's funny to see a grown man reading Judy Bloom. And second, it felt like the writers were poking fun and reminding us Lost geeks that not every book referenced holds the key to understanding Lost. Most of the time they are only there because their themes tie in with the theme of the episode.

And now I know who Henry Gale is. He's us - at least for this episode. He was the writers injecting the fans into the show. He grilled Jack and Locke with all the questions that the fans would ask. It's like they went to a message board and copied it verbatim. The other great meta moment was Anna telling Henry that, "people don't like her." Talk about the writers channeling the voice of the fans.

As far as my thoughts on the major plot points. The baby is Jin's. The Island cured him. The problem is Sun doesn't know the island fixed him so she thinks the bald guy knocked her up. Also it looks like Jin will be learning English.

I'm still not sure about Henry. Even if they find a balloon who's to the say that Dharma didn't plant it. But at the same time I think Henry may just be trying to get Jack and Locke to leave him alone in the bunker. Which makes sense if he is an Other or not. I think he might be memorizing the clicks in the combination lock. Time to put the pliers to used. By the way. How good is that actor playing Henry?

The Anna, Sayid reconciliation was also big. It gave us insight into Sayid's state of mind. It also opened up some new questions. Is he falling for her? Or, does he just understand that she is a good person to have on your side if you’re planning to go all jihad on the Others?

[Matt Jones]

Crap! Meant to post that in the initial reaction thread.

[Kathy aka Fangirl]

MattJones - always creating controversy. :)