The "Character" Theory of Everything

[WallyG3]

Here is my new Theory of Everything. Although admittedly it does have some holes, I think it's still kind of fun to think about.

The people on the show are not actually real people. They are only characters, like from books or movies. They are not in the real world, but in a type of "storybook land". Their flashbacks are their "stories".
That would explain why they all have issues, because all good characters do.

I don't know why they would all be on the plane in this scenario, or why the plane would crash. Maybe they are characters from TV shows that were cancelled.

They landed on the island where all "lost" characters go, which would explain the existance of other people and creatures on the island.

Something to ponder anyway. :)

[xxandraxx]

Maybe they were all in Daytime Soap Operas. You know how they mysteriously have characters "disappear" to upstairs bedrooms, or on plane trips, or just vanish with a note. Maybe it's the "Island of Lost Soap Opera Characters". They all end up there when their characters are written off!

Great original idea!

:D

[Baron X]

so these are missing characters from other stories? Probably not, but as you say something to light up a couple of brains cells over.

[RWPR]

Cool theorie. They all have a background that just might appear in a soap(although Lost goes way deeper)

[PinkTilly]

Awesome theory... very fun :) ... I don't think that this theory is true for the show... but heck, its freakin' COOL. 8)

You, my cool new friend, have inspired me to write a story.... for once, it is not a fanfiction.... *starts scribbling down notes*

[Grimme]

This character theory is a good one. Although we've been told that the people are not dead, this thread and the odd situation that the "Lost" crew find themselves in, made me think of a play I saw that became a movie in 1973.

I'll post a review of it from the Internet Movie Database. Note how, like "Lost", this play/movie "Steambath" has a wide assortment of characters brought together into one place.

It also shows that the names of the characters, like Morte, are important clues just like we think the names of Locke and Rousseau are.. Some aspects of the Valerie Perrine character sounds a lot like Shannon.

The play was "Steambath" from the pen of Bruce Jay Friedman. ..... Tandy (Bill Bixby) finds himself in a steambath surrounded by shall we say an odd mix of characters.

He is a young man, recently having worked for the police department teaching art appreciation but now working on a novel about the life of Charlemagne.

As he chats with the others in the room he comes to the conclusion that he is dead. Now many pieces of fiction have taken on this concept but very few have done so with such a grip on the human condition.

First there is the assortment of people represented. There is the broken down old cab driver (Stephen Elliott), the slob (Herb Edelman), a stockbroker (Kenneth Mars) and a beautiful girl (Valerie Perrine). Each has there own personal story of how they met their untimely end and how they lived their lives.

Tandy discovers that the man in charge is Morte (José Pérez) a Puerto Rican attendant. Just a little note here, the old timer mentions that his name is Spanish, indeed it is, a play on the Spanish word for death.

At first Tandy is reticent to accept this rather crude little man as the Grand Creator of all things. The only proof offered is some lame magic tricks and a little philosophical chatter. Soon, Tandy come to accept Morte’s role in the universe and the recently dead man bargains for his life.

This is an extremely dialogue drive play, each time I watch it I come away with more than before. When each person has to relate their life story for the amusement of Morte we see the hopeless desperation that life can be but underneath, just below the surface there is a person that did their best.

If God was to ask you why you should live how would you respond? Do any of us really have better reasons than finishing a book on the life of Charlemagne?

Bill Bixby is best known for his television work with roles like My Favorite Martian, and the Incredible Hulk. His performances in the Hulk showcased this actors to ground an unusual character in such a manner that the audience can identify with him. This performance is one best. He brings something to Tandy we can all relate to, clinging to life no matter how unfulfilled my perceive it.

Many may see the role Perrine takes on as pure fluff, it certainly is not. While on the surface it seems to be for shock value (in 1973 terms), walking around with only a little towel, but Perrine takes the role beyond that. There is innocence to her performance.

She is worried about her Bloomingdale’s bill and the new line of shoes coming in but through out it all there is a concern for other people. She plays this young woman as a person with genuine empathy towards others.

Pérez obviously has a lot of fun with his role. He is playful yet projects a undeniable sense of authority. At the end of the play as Tandy is explaining his life Pérez has almost no dialogue yet his movements and facial expressions are truly excellent acting.

All of the actors in this play present different aspects of the human condition in a way that grabs the audience, drawing you immediately into their lives. Considering what passes for television now this is a gem, a real moment in the history of public broadcasting.