Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

Just watched my first episode of "Lost". Down the rabbit hole I go!

Somewhat dated. If they had cellphones none of this would've happened.

(Aug 19, 2026 05:16 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]Just watched my first episode of "Lost". Down the rabbit hole I go! Somewhat dated. If they had cellphones none of this would've happened.

Ordinary cellphones wouldn't work anyway, for probably other reasons than just remoteness and isolation (the nature of the island, including why it is evasive in a geolocation context). Though a satellite phone does wind up in their hands in a later season. You'll notice some characters are named after philosophers, like John Locke and later Hume. Terry O'Quinn stole the show as it went on, but therein lies the...

I'm running out of completed (or cancelled) series that I've never seen. As a result, I have been slow-binging on the obscure and derivative (2019) 24-episode War of the Worlds set in France & the UK.

Sort of forced to rewatch Alias for the first time since it ended in 2006, because the other party either has a crush on Garner or just wants to see it because "it's there" on Pluto.

Once a week, an episode of the 3rd season of The Ark (there's simply no rationalizing why one watches that Dean Devlin show, it just inexplicably happens).

Couple of weeks earlier, slow-binged on the first season of "Dutton Ranch" and the three seasons of Sweet Tooth (Zzzzz). Somewhere back there was also Widow's Bay and The Madison, but memory gets fuzzy from that point on. Oh... From! How could I forget From, especially with Lost in this thread?

After WOTW, I may finally watch the 8 seasons of Outlander (keep forgetting that it wrapped up back in March). Or the 3rd season of Silo. With Lioness, Tulsa King, and Landman looming on the horizon as series that we've yet to see (likewise wanted to wait till each had at least circa three seasons).

Or may finally sample House of the Dragon. George R. R. Martin has supposedly been complaining that it's not adhering to his book very well, even though he's an executive producer. Incest and inbreeding are everywhere these days, including a key factor in this WOTW (2019).

Lot's of literary references scattered in "Lost." I noticed one last night when John Locke pulled a book out for his prisoner Ben to read. It only flashed the title on the cover "Valis". Ben says he's already read it and John replies maybe he should read it again. How fitting I thought, the whole premise behind Lost to continuously make you question reality and its relation to fate/the divine. Here's a paragraph about PKD's Valis I found:

"Valis is a novel loaded down with so much hidden portent and symbolic significance one could argue the meaning and intent behind it for years without conclusion. What matters is that PKD has produced possibly his greatest work, a book where even the throwaway bits, like Fat’s Russian letters (page 105 in the QPB edition) seem like purposeful enigmas rather than sloppiness. To paraphrase Ursala K. LeGuin, what Dick is entertaining us with here is death and madness, religion and Truth. And, even though the book is quite clearly about the beliefs of a madman, PKD does put several truths in there, mostly about religion. Dick said in an interview shortly before Valis was published that two types of people would hate the book; non-Christians, who wouldn’t like all the religious imagery and content, and Christians, who would find it heretical. And it is; one of the things PKD focuses on is the age-old question of why God lets bad things happen. PKD’s answer – based on Plato’s idea that “there is a streak of the irrational in the World Soul” – is quite ingenious. To say any more would be to rob the novel of one of its chief delights, Fat’s Tractate.

If what PKD was aiming for was to distill his experience with that pink beam of light, his theophany, his conversation with God, into book form, he may have come as close as humanly possible. The mad outpouring of ideas, the hallucinatory tide of experiences at the core of the novel can be quite dreamlike in places, especially when the reader willingly submerges themselves, suspending disbelief. Still, shining throughout it all is the unmistakable humantity of Dick and his characters, especially his dual selves.

And humanity is godlike, remember?

“Religion is a glorious affliction of the heart.”

Indeed."

https://philipdick.com/literary-criticis...alis-1981/

Anyone else notice that at Season 5 of "Lost" it's like all the writers started smoking crack?

(Sep 7, 2026 06:37 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]Anyone else notice that at Season 5 of "Lost" it's like all the writers started smoking crack?

All the wild time traveling? The last two episodes of the season are where the Smoke Monster and Bosch intersect.

We're finishing out the 3rd season of "Silo". May still be a while till I get to those 8 seasons of "Outlander" (hubby is scared of it; looks like a romantic soap to him). Probably start on the 3rd season of "TWD: Dead City" next. Then either "Reacher" or "Lioness".

Yeah...I lose track when time switching starts happening. But the Oceanic 6 somehow made it back to the island so maybe that will stop. I'm glad John Locke got resurrected. I really like that character. And Freckles.

I had to sign up for Hulu to get access to Lost but they also have Paradise which I need to catch up on. Looks like non-stop binging as the autumn rains start.

(Sep 7, 2026 07:13 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah...I lose track when time switching starts happening. But the Oceanic 6 somehow made it back to the island so maybe that will stop. I'm glad John Locke got resurrected. I really like that character. And Freckles.

Oh, yeah, those "flash-forward" scenes replacing the former "flash-back" scenes. Forgot about that switcheroo.

Quote:I had to sign up for Hulu to get access to Lost but they also have Paradise which I need to catch up on. Looks like non-stop binging as the autumn rains start.

After all these years, I'm amazed "Lost" is still not on Pluto, Tubi, etc. Still carrying enough clout that the pay or barrier services just don't want to give it up. "Paradise" started filming its 3rd and final season, so that gets it past any "cancellation on a cliffhanger" threat that I usually worry about.

I'm still curious about that Richard character and how he never seems to age. I hope they don't leave us hanging on that.

(Sep 7, 2026 07:40 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]I'm still curious about that Richard character and how he never seems to age. I hope they don't leave us hanging on that.

He does have a backstory. But been so long, I can't remember specifically when it occurs. Probably happens in the sixth season due to his past crossing paths with one of the two new characters that haven't been introduced yet.

Two more episodes till the end of Lost. I'm so impressed! Full of heart and soul and surprises at every turn. I will miss the characters.