tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post4597400272846158899..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Lost: Sayid agent manAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-8480584871058870672008-02-18T09:39:00.000-05:002008-02-18T09:39:00.000-05:00My take on the time thing:While I grant that time ...My take on the time thing:<BR/><BR/>While I grant that time could be moving more slowly on the island, nothing we have seen confirms this, and much contradicts. The real time phone conversations are the biggest tip off, but there are others. An explanation that fits more with what has been shown is that time on the island is moving at the same rate as time off the island. The reason the payload arrived late, and the reason Desmond never sailed away, is that there is a space-time warp surrounding the island. Electromagnetic signals are affected, but conversations by those phones would not have a noticeable delay to human ears (no more than the average cross country phone call). Physical objects, however, would be greatly affected. There is a weak point, or a hole in the field--possibly two. Picture a pattern of magnetism waves eminating from opposite poles, if traveling perpendicularly to or from the center of the positive/negative axis, the forces cancel out, and you have a clear path. This is the "heading" that Michael was told to travel, and is the "heading" that Daniel instructs the copter to fly in. Using data obtained when the hatch blew, the frieghties could have figured out a likey pattern of the forcefield allowing Naomi to barely make it to the island. The rest of the frieghties then had her phone signal to lock in on, and could they could gauge from which direction they should approach the island to make it through the field by analyzing the delay in signal from differing angles. Easier said than done. They still burned a lot of fuel and dealt with electromagnetic phenomena.<BR/><BR/>Slow moving, human controlled objects would be the most affected. If the craft is not moving perpendicular to the poles of of the field, the distortion could lead the pilot or sailor to feel they are flying/sailing in on a steady course, but are in fact turning around. Desmond would end up back on the island, and the copter would probably run out of fuel and crash. THe payload did not have to worry about human second guessing in it's flight path, so it did eventually make it through the field and onto the island, albeit with a slight detour through space-time causing the lack of time synchronization.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that's my take on all this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69537426386792158342008-02-18T07:34:00.000-05:002008-02-18T07:34:00.000-05:00Remarks upon next week's scenes are still spoilers...Remarks upon next week's scenes are still spoilers on this board, I thought? Speculation okay, confirmation from next week's previews not, or am I missing something?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-80346972953356050362008-02-17T17:42:00.000-05:002008-02-17T17:42:00.000-05:00Of course, at the end of Lost there will be critic...Of course, at the end of Lost there will be criticisms that not every strand, big and small, tied together perfectly. But I really don't think you can say any show in history has done that. Considering the staggering amount of details, characters, and time-frames (relative to other shows), the Lost-makers are doing a pretty bang-up job of keeping it all in check so far.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-92053828854447379622008-02-17T10:10:00.000-05:002008-02-17T10:10:00.000-05:00"An economist who refuses to use a cellphone? I'm ..."An economist who refuses to use a cellphone? I'm pretty sure it's Stringer Bell."<BR/><BR/>LOL too funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-17229855109257456062008-02-17T06:52:00.000-05:002008-02-17T06:52:00.000-05:00An economist who refuses to use a cellphone? I'm ...An economist who refuses to use a cellphone? I'm pretty sure it's Stringer Bell.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-66923881008660691522008-02-16T23:44:00.000-05:002008-02-16T23:44:00.000-05:00Ha. In that final scene, when I heard Ben's voice,...Ha. In that final scene, when I heard Ben's voice, I was like "that's Ben!" But before I knew whether they were going to reveal the person or not, I started second guessing, thinking, actually, it sounds kinda like someone trying to sound like Ben. Then once they showed him I realized it was the opposite. It was Ben trying to sound less like Ben. No use, though. He's got too distinctive a voice/cadence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5353138940596798502008-02-16T21:50:00.000-05:002008-02-16T21:50:00.000-05:00I sure hope Cane not being around for long means t...I sure hope Cane not being around for long means that Nestor Carbonell comes back to Lost. He was yet another good bit of casting and hadn't yet gotten a great showcase for his own creeptastic skills. <BR/><BR/>Regarding Ben's voice, imho they tweaked it electronically in that last scene before we saw Ben's face. Bit of a fake, but then, I'm willing to forgive it since the reveal of Sayid working for Ben was cool. <BR/><BR/>Re what Anthony Foglia said: "I don't want to think about it much, because I'm sure whatever explanation Lindelof and Cuse come up with will have problems."<BR/><BR/>Word. About a lot of stuff. I think that's one reason I don't try to remember TOO much about previous seasons. If you tried to, you could easily pick apart every element of Lost. And goodness knows I've gone that route whenever I've been irritated with the show. But at this point I'd rather skim along the surface of the time-portal/wormhole debate. I'm sure that, come the finale, we'll be debating how much stuff didn't make sense in light of the red herrings and confusion along the way. But if they keep entertaining me at this level, I won't care much if the physics doesn't quite add up. I should mention at this point that anything to do with time travel makes my brain hurt, which has always been the Achilles' heel of my sci-fi nerddom.Mo Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01685367085407381479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-76332929230508209032008-02-16T16:46:00.000-05:002008-02-16T16:46:00.000-05:00After the final episode, I'm pretty sure there wil...<EM>After the final episode, I'm pretty sure there will be 1) big plot holes caused by this very loose initial plotting, and 2) whole storylines that will have meant nearly nothing in the grand scheme.</EM><BR/><BR/>I agree, but isn't that inevitable? We're talking about 100+ episodes over a span of 6 years. Isn't it inevitable that not every single storyline is going to lead to a payoff? Mr. Eko, for example, probably won't end up being that "important" in the scheme of things. But aren't you glad he was part of it for a while?<BR/><BR/>I don't remember Lindelof and Cuse claiming they had it all figured out in detail, but it sounds about right. Lindelof in particular... He bugs me. I wish he wouldn't say anything at all about the show. Just write 'em, don't keep yanking our chains about 'em.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-81425428401380866522008-02-16T16:14:00.000-05:002008-02-16T16:14:00.000-05:00BWC: "I think too often people assume that when so...BWC: "I think too often people assume that when somebody like the Cuse & Lindelof or George Lucas or whomever else claims to have plotted out a grand narrative years earlier that they actually plotted every minute twist and turn along the way--which is lunacy.<BR/><BR/>Leaving aside the amount of time it would take to craft an intricate narrative before reaching day 1 of shooting, every creative artist is at least somewhat familiar with the experience of starting down a specific path only to discover the story pulling you in a different (and hopefully more interesting direction)."<BR/><BR/><BR/>I don't think I'm making this mistake of assuming too much from creative minds. What you state is quite obvious. Within the framework and leeway of what you state, I'M STILL stating that the producers of Lost didn't even have much planned, and were purposefully introducing elements that were simply to titillate and intrigue, and would later be shoe-horned into anything they came up with later. There is a difference between creative improvisation, and out-right chain-yanking. I'm even willing to say that out of the characters of Ben/Juliette/Others, The Whidmores, The new group of 4, Desmond, The new Man in Black, Dharma/Hanso, and Tailies, all of which appear to be major players, 2 or more were not in anyone's plans at any time. Not JJ's, not Carlton's, and not Damon's.<BR/><BR/>The Tailies are a perfect example. Do you realize that, while their season was on, everyone thought they would be so key to everything. Now, in hind-sight, they are as significant as Nikki and Paulo (who are themselves further proof of the concept). They are going to contribute so little to the "Grand Explanation" relative to their scree-time.<BR/><BR/>Hanso and Dharma might be next. <BR/><BR/>Like I said before, I DO believe they have it figured out since agreeing with ABC on a definite end-date. I also strongly believe, that, before they had this end date in hand, they were making things up that they had no ideas about previously, just to extend the series. After the final episode, I'm pretty sure there will be 1) big plot holes caused by this very loose initial plotting, and 2) whole storylines that will have meant nearly nothing in the grand scheme.<BR/><BR/>If you want to say the Producers had a "plot" about "time travel, fate, and destiny", and that "count's" as having a story plotted from beginning to end, then sure, you can say they knew what they were doing all along, and all this 'improv' is justified. But the two producers, Cuse and Lidleoff, made much bolder claims of completeness, even in season one, that they had all MAJOR plot points already discussed. It is this portion that I'm highly skeptical about.<BR/><BR/>I guess we'll see who is right in 3 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-19671015704793869462008-02-16T15:47:00.000-05:002008-02-16T15:47:00.000-05:00Surprised no one has mentioned wormhole here yet.Surprised no one has mentioned wormhole here yet.Cousin Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08523186868781861931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-85880414792285143162008-02-16T14:09:00.000-05:002008-02-16T14:09:00.000-05:00I would totally watch a Lost spin-off where Sayid ...I would totally watch a <I>Lost</I> spin-off where Sayid is an international superspy, doing dangerous missions for Ben.barefootjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02619403344304134318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12143643364392507902008-02-16T02:51:00.000-05:002008-02-16T02:51:00.000-05:00"trippiest of all, the revelation that Flashforwar..."trippiest of all, the revelation that Flashforward Sayid is working for Ben. The distinctiveness of Michael Emerson's voice meant that this last one was obvious well before we saw Ben's face, but the moment I heard him talk, a chill went down my spine."<BR/><BR/>Actually I thought Emerson did a good job of slightly changing his voice. But I suspected it was him from Sayid's on-island line "The Day I work for you is the day I sell my soul." It practically screamed <I>dramatic irony</I>.<BR/><BR/>I have a physics PhD, but not in anything based on relativity. Still I do have some ideas. I'm not sure the time dilation needs to be a special relativitistic effect, but it could be a general relativistic effect.<BR/><BR/>The former deals with moving frames, and not only would time on the island move slower than the boat, but time on the boat would move slower than the island. And no, that's not a contradiction.<BR/><BR/>If it's a general relativistic effect, then island could be slower than the boat, and the boat faster than the island. Imagine the island in a gravity well, like a black hole. (And since we're busting out physics, maybe there's a magnetic monopole on the island, and that somehow causes the time dilation effects.)<BR/><BR/>But the time dilation would explain the requirement of specific headings. If say you're on a boat trying to leave the island, like Desmond, and you aren't traveling in the direction of the gradient of the time rate, one side of your boat will be faster than the other, and your boat would turn.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure what effect it would have on the sat phone communications though. Really any time dilation would mean the sat phones quickly get to different frequencies.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I don't want to think about it much, because I'm sure whatever explanation Lindelof and Cuse come up with will have problems. Already they are violating causality; if Faraday moved (say to the beach) after getting off the phone, the beacon would never have reached his signal, which it did according to the voice from the boat.afogliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02820361829972093800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-18359111267210878922008-02-16T01:28:00.000-05:002008-02-16T01:28:00.000-05:00With Cane done for the season and maybe forever, i...With Cane done for the season and maybe forever, is there any chance of Nestor Carbonell returning to do more episodes of Lost this season?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-88157555127284255762008-02-16T00:58:00.000-05:002008-02-16T00:58:00.000-05:00What bwc said. There's only so much detail you can...What bwc said. There's only so much detail you can work out ahead of time, because you don't know what kinds of real-world problems will crop up. One example is Mr. Trick from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was supposed to be the big bad for that season, but for whatever reason the actor didn't work out. So they killed him off after a few episodes and put the Mayor in the spotlight. Which ended up working, because Harry Groener was fantastic. His evil-yet-nurturing relationship with Faith was one of the high points of the whole series. But it wasn't part of the original plan at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-22218151339073995942008-02-16T00:43:00.000-05:002008-02-16T00:43:00.000-05:00As for Kate, she could have been working for him f...<I>As for Kate, she could have been working for him first, in exchange for Ben getting her out of jail.</I><BR/><BR/>Maybe he's the "he" she spoke of in the last season finale ("He'll be wondering where I am" or whatever she said). Which...ewww....<BR/><BR/><I>I can't wait for a Sawyer/Miles/Hurley quip-a-thon. </I><BR/><BR/>Same here! I hope Miles is on the show for a long time, too--he's hilarious.<BR/><BR/><I>2)Nirvana on the radio is no coincidence. April 5 it is.</I><BR/><BR/>I hear Nirvana on the radio almost every day (and sometimes five or six times a day). I don't think that proves anything.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-48813862784174771512008-02-15T23:10:00.000-05:002008-02-15T23:10:00.000-05:00When Locke says "I'm in charge, is that going to b...When Locke says "I'm in charge, is that going to be a problem?" to Hugo, I just wanted to yell at the screen. Yes Locke, that is a problem because you're crazy, since Hugo's the only nice guy you should follow him.Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14305187318382810105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75329576982518287302008-02-15T21:56:00.000-05:002008-02-15T21:56:00.000-05:00Re: Plotting it all out ahead of timeI think too o...Re: Plotting it all out ahead of time<BR/><BR/>I think too often people assume that when somebody like the Cuse & Lindelof or George Lucas or whomever else claims to have plotted out a grand narrative years earlier that they actually plotted every minute twist and turn along the way--which is lunacy.<BR/><BR/>Leaving aside the amount of time it would take to craft an intricate narrative before reaching day 1 of shooting, every creative artist is at least somewhat familiar with the experience of starting down a specific path only to discover the story pulling you in a different (and hopefully more interesting direction).<BR/><BR/>When Michael Emerson does a guest shot and turns out to have a presence you don't want to lose, your first move is to see what kind of adjustments you have to make that would allow you to make as much use of him as possible.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure the way this has worked is that the Lost guys said "we're starting out with ABC, and we want to get to XYZ, which means we're going to have to hit points G, M, R and T somewhere along the way." As for everything else along the way... as long as they don't wind up contradicting your endpoint (or what you've shown before), they'll be fine.BWChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17351760609787645332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69046505648231087112008-02-15T21:52:00.000-05:002008-02-15T21:52:00.000-05:00And speaking of time differentials, should we give...<EM>And speaking of time differentials, should we give importance to the fact that Elsa's page came before it was supposed to?</EM><BR/><BR/>I just figured that was a bit of exposition. It was a way of telling us that the page was faked, that she was expecting it as part of her ploy to get information out of Sayid. Apparently she hadn't gotten to that part of their pillow talk yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2307645137307050202008-02-15T20:58:00.000-05:002008-02-15T20:58:00.000-05:00This is actually my first time posting. I did a se...This is actually my first time posting. I did a search for "bed" and didn't see this mentioned. The shot of Sawyer coming into the room while Kate was under the bed seems to be a call back to Sawyer's flashback when his mother is killed and his father commits suicide, as a result of the original Sawyer's actions. This further cements the connection that Sawyer had become exactly what he hated. I have been lurking for months and love your posts, Alan. Have a great vacation.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02007552111156928356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-87922740612553682162008-02-15T20:54:00.000-05:002008-02-15T20:54:00.000-05:00Speaking as a sci-fi nerd and as a nuclear enginee...Speaking as a sci-fi nerd and as a nuclear engineer, I'm convinced that it is never a good idea to get too into the physics of a fictional universe.<BR/><BR/>Has anyone else watched the enhanced version of last week's episode available on-line? They have little notes that pop up saying that the unavailable guy on the boat has the same last name as a German mathematician, that C.S. Lewis created a universe that used a special kind of portal, that the different scattering of light noted by Daniel is important....<BR/><BR/>I jumped to the conclusion that the Economist was Penny's father, Whitmore.<BR/><BR/>And speaking of time differentials, should we give importance to the fact that Elsa's page came before it was supposed to? "You were supposed to page me at 10:30!"Christyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12623422545436294378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-23031336775052246582008-02-15T20:13:00.000-05:002008-02-15T20:13:00.000-05:00The way Ben talked about 'these people' and referr...The way Ben talked about 'these people' and referred to Sayid's past actions (which I got the impression meant he trusted the Freighters and paid for it) definitely pointed me into thinking that the economist is Abaddon. We don't really know much about him, and we know he wants to find out where they are and whether they're alive (4x01), which fits in with the idea that Sayid and Ben are doing this to protect Sayid's 'friends' (those left on the island).<BR/><BR/>So, Sayid, Kate, Jack, Hurley and (the other two O6ers, whom I'm spoiled for) get off, and they have to work hard to lie about the island and keep things secret. Why? Because Abaddon is still searching for it, like he sent Naomi and her gang in the present and like he hired Elsa in the future. Makes sense to me.The Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17546127190104727704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-25548792060227810142008-02-15T19:56:00.000-05:002008-02-15T19:56:00.000-05:00Doug S - ABC does do most of the Lost marketing on...Doug S - ABC does do most of the Lost marketing on their own. I remember last year the producers being upset about a promo that promised answers when the episode didn't answer anything. They thought it would annoy fans. I am sure they have some input, but all that online stuff is a totally different department doing a totally different job. And since Cuse and Lindelof were on strike for the last three months, they definitely didn't have any say over what went up online.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5187169266063949922008-02-15T19:16:00.000-05:002008-02-15T19:16:00.000-05:00Assuming John doesn't intend to ever leave the isl...<EM>Assuming John doesn't intend to ever leave the island, and certainly would never put it in danger, why would he be the economist / why would Ben be trying to kill him at this point in the chronology?</EM><BR/><BR/>Not to mention that Elsa's whole mission was to get Sayid to reveal the identity of his employer (just as his was to get her to give up <EM>her</EM> boss). Locke and Ben already know each other. This is something much bigger.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-20225618601681619612008-02-15T19:08:00.000-05:002008-02-15T19:08:00.000-05:00By the way, Sayid totally is the flash-forward dea...By the way, Sayid <I>totally</I> is the flash-forward dead guy in last year's finale.dark tylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13461345493748899275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-29638046784082268192008-02-15T19:02:00.000-05:002008-02-15T19:02:00.000-05:00Assuming John doesn't intend to ever leave the isl...Assuming John doesn't intend to ever leave the island, and certainly would never put it in danger, why would he be the economist / why would Ben be trying to kill him at this point in the chronology?<BR/><BR/>Not to mention John doesn't seem like the corporate mastermind 'the economist' seemed to be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com