1261 replies to this topic

[John Adams]

Kelly the Fair and Balanced Dog, on May 24 2010, 05:06 PM, said:

Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Treme, The Tudors, Californication just off the top of my head are all really well written, directed and acted shows, IMO. Not so much the network shows except for a few. But I'm partial to the pay TV shows, and Mad Men. Even HBO's Hung, I think, is a sneakily good show. I'm not talking all-time great epic shows. But there is a lot of good stuff. Treme is fantastic, IMO.

In the supernatural vein, I'd add True Blood and echo what you listed (minus Californication and Hung, neither of which capture me).

For shows in the last decade, Deadwood (Shakespearean western) and The Wire are awesome.

Lost is one of the better network shows that I've ever seen. Up there with West Wing and because I'm a Sci Fi geek, probably more fun for me.

[MrJasper]

tgreg99, on May 24 2010, 02:42 PM, said:

Sideways World:

Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us duing "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It's loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.

tgregg,

First: Awesome post.

What's your take on Kimmel's theory that in the sideways world, when the place hit turbulence and stopped and Rose looked over to Jack and said "You can let go now"?

[Kelly the Dog]

John Adams, on May 24 2010, 02:32 PM, said:

In the supernatural vein, I'd add True Blood and echo what you listed (minus Californication and Hung, neither of which capture me).

For shows in the last decade, Deadwood (Shakespearean western) and The Wire are awesome.

Lost is one of the better network shows that I've ever seen. Up there with West Wing and because I'm a Sci Fi geek, probably more fun for me.

Yeah, Deadwood, The Wire and West Wing were all terrific shows. I love Californication.

I didn't like Hung at first but it grew on me. Then I went back and watched them all over again and I really liked it. Granted, not epic in any sense of the word, just entertaining and clever. I would put it in a category of I like it a lot and it entertains me a lot, as opposed to being excellent television.

[ajzepp]

DrDankenstein, on May 24 2010, 11:51 AM, said:

these souls had such a major life-changing event together that they were bound together. while im sure some people could have their own purgatory, these souls shared one. they shared one because they wanted to be together when it was time to move on. when they were all brought to the island, they were lost and alone. this struggle gave them each other. it gave them family.

the sideways world we saw was everyone's both together and individually. remember, there is still Alex and Roussau which Ben is going to help. they will most likely move on together when they are ready. etc.

the big motto of the series for the real world events was "Live Together, Die Alone". what we saw is that they actually live together, and are together again in death. because they have each other.

You've sort of hit on my own view of the end. It's weird, cause I read the comments from  John Adams and I remember how I felt just two weeks ago where I had issues with all the same points he brings up.

From time to time when I log onto Facebook, I get a friend request from someone I went to high school with. Now the funny thing is that it almost doesn't really matter if we were good friends or just acquaintances, if we traveled in the same circle or different, liked each other or didnt like each other, etc. No matter the circumstances of the past, I almost inevitably feel really happy to see them and hear from them. The circumstances of our relationship (or lack thereof) in high school were completely irrelevant. What mattered most is that we were both THERE, that we both shared a common experience, and that now we were reuniting after twenty years. The significance was our common experience...that's what mattered most and that's what led to my feeling of happiness to see them today.

I think this is exactly why even though I very recently had many of the same issues that John Adams has today, this last episode was so beautifully done and it took me to a place where, just like seeing a classmate after 20 years, the circumstances just didn't matter. The shared bond was a beautiful thing, and when you reunite with someone after so long, it's a very emotional thing.

It was pretty clear that this finale wasn't some immediate segue from their lives on the island to the afterlife. For at least most of them, A LONG DAMN TIME had passed from the initial crash of the oceanic flight until the church reunion. When that happened, it's almost like it made the circumstances of the island irrelevant, or at least secondary, to their "awakenings" and the realization that it was the bond they established through the shared experience of the last six years (our time) that mattered most.

[Lurker]

"...uniquely bad time for us to have a problem with our digital equipment"    

[plenzmd1]

Lurker, on May 24 2010, 06:15 PM, said:

"...uniquely bad time for us to have a problem with our digital equipment"    

I would have "lost" it had this happened in Richmond

[UB2SF]

DrDankenstein, on May 24 2010, 01:02 PM, said:

i keep hearing this from the complainers, and each time I ask them to list some of the unanswered questions, and EACH TIME they either cant/dont or the questions they do list have been answered. at least to an extent that allows you to draw your own conclusion.

so, with that being said, lay some of the unanswered questions on us, and we'll work out some answers!  

Fair enough, Doctor.  I certainly does seem that everything I label "unanswered" is actually something that either 1) has actually been answered, or 2) could be answered by inference, or 3) would be put in the "just let it go" category by the Lost faithful.  

I guess that's what's frustrating for me: the show was so dense with intricacies that it often left me feeling dense as a viewer.  The precious few neurons that my daily life could afford to devote to Lost were overwhelmed with the endless barrage of facts and conjecture.  Any answers would quickly be obscured by new questions, as the relentless throughput invariably shorted the neural circuit of those precious few neurons.  So I am fully willing to accept that my complaint about unanswered questions is really just a complaint about my own inability to find and/or retain the answers.  In Lost terms, I would have wound up as a whisper on the island rather than being among the group at the church -- I'm apparently not worthy!

Thanks for offering to answer my questions -- I genuinely appreciate it.  But I'll pass.  It would only prove the failure of my neurons, and at my age, there are plenty of other things which do that every day.  I think I just have to "let it go."

[ricojes]

stevewin, on May 24 2010, 04:41 PM, said:

One thing that seemed different than I thought - by "pulling the plug" and extinguishing the light, was the only ramification that the island would be destroyed?

I believe the enormous ramification of pulling the plug was making Flocke mortal, it was the only way to kill him.

[SDS]

tgreg99, on May 24 2010, 07:33 PM, said:

Absolutely true ...

And, in terms of the bigger picture, if the "cork" had remained out, then the island would have been destroyed, allowing whatever the plug was stopping (the evil of the world as Jacob called it) loose. This would in fact, destroy the world.

When you uncork something - shouldn't it have had a more immediate effect?

[SDS]

Can you believe Evangeline Lilly dated that troll Charlie for 5 years?  

[Simon]

SDS, on May 24 2010, 12:46 AM, said:

You knew that they were in heaven as soon as Kate showed up in that black dress...

My wife is always asking about clothing styles and such and I never have an opinion on them because my levels of caring and knowing about that stuff are equally minuscule. But one time I try to offer an observation on the subject by mentioning that that's a really nice dress and I get slugged for my selfless effort!
What the hell?!

[SDS]

Simon, on May 24 2010, 08:33 PM, said:

My wife is always asking about clothing styles and such and I never have an opinion on them because my levels of caring and knowing about that stuff are equally minuscule. But one time I try to offer an observation on the subject by mentioning that that's a really nice dress and I get slugged for my selfless effort!
What the hell?!

Let her know she could have gone without the dress too...

[John Adams]

SDS, on May 24 2010, 08:25 PM, said:

Can you believe Evangeline Lilly dated that troll Charlie for 5 years?  

It's another unexplained oddity.

[The Jokeman]

I hate to break up the Kate lust party because she indeed looked great in that dress, those legs were to die for but back to the show's meaning/ending. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's made this parallel to this rather famous quote but hadn't seen it posted anywhere in this thread so thought post it.

Quote

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

[SDS]

The Jokeman, on May 24 2010, 09:06 PM, said:

I hate to break up the Kate lust party...

What did dad say when you told him?

[Lurker]

tgreg99, on May 24 2010, 03:42 PM, said:

Good stuff on here!

Gotta love the Internet:

"This was originally posted in the Forums but the load crashed our servers lol.
Thanks to empire for the following.

This is making the rounds, not sure how true it is...but a worthwhile read if so"

[stevewin]

tgreg99, on May 24 2010, 06:33 PM, said:

Absolutely true ...

And, in terms of the bigger picture, if the "cork" had remained out, then the island would have been destroyed, allowing whatever the plug was stopping (the evil of the world as Jacob called it) loose. This would in fact, destroy the world.

In your earlier post you say

Quote

The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a "Protector".   Jacob wasn't the first, Hurley won't be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him

Can you explain more about the concept of how the island keeps the balance of good and evil.  Presumably, keeping the "light lit" is important towards that end?   Ie., normally it needs to stay lit - but what would normally happen if it goes out?   When you pull the plug the island gets destroyed - but what else happens to upset the balance of good and evil in the world?  As you say, the MiB was an anomoly - so the effects of pulling the plug and making him mortal so he could be killed etc. etc. was a very unique, specific case.  How does evil get unleashed on the world in a non-MiB scenario/era if the island is not protected? - how does the island's light/energy keep the balance?

[PromoTheRobot]

stevewin, on May 24 2010, 11:42 PM, said:

In your earlier post you say


Can you explain more about the concept of how the island keeps the balance of good and evil.  Presumably, keeping the "light lit" is important towards that end?   Ie., normally it needs to stay lit - but what would normally happen if it goes out?   When you pull the plug the island gets destroyed - but what else happens to upset the balance of good and evil in the world?  As you say, the MiB was an anomoly - so the effects of pulling the plug and making him mortal so he could be killed etc. etc. was a very unique, specific case.  How does evil get unleashed on the world in a non-MiB scenario/era if the island is not protected? - how does the island's light/energy keep the balance?

Since Smoke Monster was taking the form of Locke, how did Smoky turn mortal when the light went off?  If anything Locke should have turned back into smoke.

PTR

[SDS]

I would have liked to know why MIB turned into smokey for being thrown into the cave, but no one else was affected by it (save for the skeletons at the bottom).

[udonkey]

For those that want to get nostalgic...TBD's first thread on Lost (12/2004):

http://forums.twobil...?...c=12926&hl=


EDIT - might not be the "first", but the oldest one I could find.  Funny to read some of the comments