Did we just JUMP the SHARK?

[DaBadGuy]

OK, the premiere was a well-made episode, but it got the storyline steadily rolling downhill. I just sat in front of the TV for an hour to see a teddy bear traipsing through the jungle, which by the way I had already seen on a commercial! The flashbacks are stretching a little thin, and it's starting to seem like JJ, Damon, and the boys are writing the stories while they are filming them! We've got our own little "Apocolypse Now" going on! All we need now is for Foxy to refuse to come out of his trailor unless he gets a million dollars a day. Guys, when are we going to come out of the fog? There are SHARKS being JUMPED here! And to top it all off, they take a 3 week vacation! Can they pull this thing out of the ditch? Or is it time for a Mork and Mindy-style spinoff?

:hat

Oh yeah, and you elitist snobs in General can sit around and come up with as many theories as you want. Maybe Damon will stumble across one and steal it! Can't be any worse than the schlock he's got cookin' up right now.

[LostInWilderness]

I'm very disappointed so far this season also. I've yet to get a handle on it. Thank TPTB for Kate wiggling out of her bonds, eating the apollo bar, crawling through the nice tight ducts, and taking a shower.

[metallidevils]

the first episode was amazing, and i'll admit that because of that, we probably set our expectations too high...but that's still no excuse for absolutely nothing important happening in this episode, and also the first 3 episodes to basically share about 50% of the scenes with each other

[Homer Noodleman]

I haven't been disappointed yet this year. Lost always was kinda goofy -- remember when Claire got kidnapped and the castaways more or less forgot about her for a couple cof weeks?

They've shown the interior of the hatch and it was entertainingly bizarre down there. Now they are reinforcing how wierd and dangerous the others are. It is working for me so far.

[Hurley4Prez]

I didn't have a problem with this week's epi. I thought it was better than last week's. I have to admit that this episode had the worst flashback so far. I love the whole Sun/Jin thing, but the romance angle alone doesn't do it for me.
This haiatus is going to suck. I think that'll piss off quite a few people, whether it's the "network standard" or not before sweeps. Lost doesn't flow like your typical sitcom.

[LostBoy]

I don't know if it's jumped the shark yet, but the show is definitely feeling a little dry right now. But, like Homer said, there have been dry spells before. Hopefully it will pick up again soon.

[snowtires]

i totally agree. i said it before in another topic, i'm betting that they came up with the first episode and last episode at the beginning of the season and then said, 'ok, let's fill in the space.' the island events of the past four episodes should have taken place in the first two episodes. they're creating so many blanks that, when they start filling them in, people are going to have a hard time caring.

think about it. how many questions have been asked and how many answers have we been given? why are they on the island? why does it seem like they are all connected? what do the numbers mean? what is the counter counting down to? who is hanso? what was really dharma doing there? what is the monster? what is the sickness? who are the others? where is walt? is walt psychic? polar bears? so far they've answered one question: what's in the hatch? but we STILL don't know what's in the hatch, really. we see what it is, but we still don't know WHAT it is or why it's there.

it's not like they're answering questions, they just keep asking more. to a point that's awesome, i mean look at twin peaks. but the difference there was, you found out who killed laura palmer BEFORE the last episode of the series. well before the last episode, in fact. jj and damon are going to have a bitch of a time tying up all of these loose ends, if they don't start soon. at the rate they're going (one answer per season), they'd better seriously think about stepping it up a bit.

they also shot themselves in the foot by having so many 'main' characters. there are so many regular members of the cast, no wonder they're killing one off, it's becoming impossible to write for, what, 16 main characters? how much screen time have charlie, claire, shannon and sayid had for this entire season? like five minutes total? to that effect, do we really even need charlie, claire or shannon to tell this story? most of us know that one of those three is a goner in november, i'm betting the other two won't be far behind.

as far as the story telling goes, i like the flashbacks, but i hope they get to a point where they can stop using them. we know, we know, their lives before the island paralleled their lives on the island. we get it. the island is much more interesting than the flashbacks. people aren't watching to see the flashbacks, people are watching to see what happens on the island.

i really hope everything turns around in november, because it's starting to seem like this show is the 'matrix' of tv. the first was amazing, but then the creators got ahead of themselves.

[faketree]

worst.episode.ever.

but as for jumping the shark, no chance. completely different.

but wow, highly disappointing. and don't shows usually want to leave you on the edge of your seat before they take a huge break? making you feel like you just can't wait until next episode?

well, all i can say is that i CAN wait 3 weeks for the new episode because it'll take me two weeks to calm down from how pissed i am about this episode.

anyways, my prediction is that bernard dies. he's kinda not looking too good.

[LoStMyMiNd]

I don't think its jumped the shark, all I know is that I 'm tired of 5 minutes of show and 10 minutes of commercials. aaarrrgh>:

[jackfalstaff]

i don't think it jumped the shark, i just think there was too little substance to make up a whole episode. in season one there seemed to be so much happening in each episode, several different subplots and all of them really mattered. this one alternated the OMG OTHERS storyline with sun's wedding ring, which was cute but just felt like a letdown every time we switched away from michael/jin/eko.

i am certainly not disappointed with the season, though. i think the hatch/dharma thing is excellent.

[AGuyNamedSteve]

It was a very disappointing episode. Sure, we found out "who" the body was, but it really didn't matter in the long run.

We also know the others don't appear to wear shoes, assuming those were actually "The Others." I also don't think they were involved with capturing Walt either.

It was a real downer before a long break.

It was hard enough watching the same hatch episode from a couple of different perspectives in consecutive weeks to start off the season. I feel like things are being drug along intentionally. I keep asking myself if things moved along this slowly in Season 1.

[LostInWilderness]

I haven't been disappointed yet this year. Lost always was kinda goofy -- remember when Claire got kidnapped and the castaways more or less forgot about her for a couple cof weeks?
That fear of being killed by Superman and his Superfriends thing probably made a difference in deciding not to hunt Claire. But nobody watching the counter during the luau after the outrageously stupid ordeal that made Jack and Locke cry like baby Aaron? Give me a break!

[Suil Liath]

Yes, too many characters and yet we need the variety.

What they've done here is introduce too many NEW people after we've come to be more interested in the folks from the first season.

Nothing stays scarey if you see too much of it. It's hard to maintain suspense when you're also trying to answer questions.

[slimjim]

I sure hope we didn't just jump the shark. That episode WAS TOTAL CR@P! I can't believe I wasted my time watching that. what came out of that episode? Anything? a teddy bear? barefeet "others"? dead guy who has not YET been eaten? WTF? Did I miss something? And now I am to take a 3 week break and be expected to come back interested? what a joke. Sorry for the rant but come on. I think I am gonna take more than 3 weeks off, download some shows and watch them when I have time. I' just glad I am not the only one who knows that ep sucked. Now I am pissed that I have 30+ hrs in this thing.

[snowtires]

i heard a quote yesterday morning (i'm paraphrasing here), 'the best drama just has to boil the pot, it doesn't have to cook anything.' that's exactly what lost's writers are doing. they're setting everything up so we keep watching, but the truth is, if they answered any of the questions, we'd be more willing to stop watching. they're forgetting, though, that the parts in between the questions and the answers has to keep our attention.

[NokomisIsABadRobot]

as far as the story telling goes, i like the flashbacks, but i hope they get to a point where they can stop using them. we know, we know, their lives before the island paralleled their lives on the island. we get it. the island is much more interesting than the flashbacks. people aren't watching to see the flashbacks, people are watching to see what happens on the island.
Last season, the FBs served to intertwine the castaways. We saw Hurley on Korean tv. We saw Jack's Dad and Sawyer tipping one back together. We saw Walt's creepy step daddy hand him off to Michael after a supposed death of his Mom. We see the same car strike Locke and Mike. We saw Sawyer being dragged through the same police station Boone was in. Things blended together! It seemed like it was leading towards the reason why these particular people were the ones who survived. We were looking for more connections between them all. Now I get to watch Sun have dinner with some fricken guy her Mommy set her up with (and we'll never see again) for 10 minutes of my show and barely have the first eye contact with Sun and Jin? I needed to see Jin and his roomie discussing love for 5 minutes? The FBs this year suck! If they arent going to add something to the plot..... then leave them out of the damn show! >:

Oh, and still NO Sayid (the emmy nominee)>:

[hurleysmybuddy]

I don't think you guys really understand the concept of jumping the shark. It's when a show pulls a pathetic stunt to try to increase it's ratings. A boring show does not equal a stupid stunt. It was just a boring show. One could argue that suddenly finding other castaways from the back of the plane was jumping the shark. Or even finding the hatch. Although I don't think either is the case--especially considering that LOST still has good ratings. But jumping the shark has to be the result of the show doing *something* not *nothing*.

[AGuyNamedSteve]

I agree that they didn't jump the shark, but I didn't want to start a new thread about dissatisfaction of the current episodes.

One thing I'm trying to decide has to do with being a new viewer. I bought Season 1 just after this season started. In two weeks I got a whole season in, viewing 2-3 almost each evening. So it could be the massive amounts of information available to me (at the touch of the play button) that could be tainting my Season 2 viewing.

Or, it could be the things I previously stated regardless of how quickly I viewed Season 1.

I just don't think an uneventful episode, followed by an early season cliff-hanger, is the right recipe for keeping viewers for a 3-week hiatus.

I will be back in 3-weeks to watch, as my dvr is already programmed.

[snowtires]

in response to the post from 'hurleysmybuddy'

from wikipedia:

Jumping the shark is a metaphor used by US television critics and fans since the 1990s. The phrase, popularized by Jon Hein on his website, jumptheshark.com, is used to describe the moment when a pop culture icon, originally a TV show or similar episodic medium, is in retrospect judged to have passed its "peak" and shows a noticeable decline in quality, or when it has undergone too many changes that take away the original charm and interest.

i'd say the topic's creator was pretty dead on with his suggestion that lost might have jumped the shark. it's not based on a 'stunt' but on poorer quality material.

[LostBoy]

I don't think you guys really understand the concept of jumping the shark. It's when a show pulls a pathetic stunt to try to increase it's ratings. A boring show does not equal a stupid stunt. It was just a boring show. One could argue that suddenly finding other castaways from the back of the plane was jumping the shark. Or even finding the hatch. Although I don't think either is the case--especially considering that LOST still has good ratings. But jumping the shark has to be the result of the show doing *something* not *nothing*.

Agreed. People often use words and phrases without understanding their meaning.

I do think this episode coinciding with the layoff is poor timing on ABC and TPTB's POV. People are fickle, they won't stick with a show forever. My interest in the show has certainly waned, though I'll be back, but I'd bet there will be a drop in the ratings by the time the next episode airs.

[snowtires]

People often use words and phrases without understanding their meaning.

that's kind of funny, if you think about it. read what i posted directly above your post, it has the definition of jumping the shark.

[DreaminLost]

I get bothered by people who complain that last night's episode wasn't exciting enough for them.

There's something called 'pacing'--the flow of information. Good storytelling requires a series of natural ebbs and flows in the plot, with a single purpose moving the story forward.

If too many scenes in a row are running at top speed, things need to be slowed a bit. Balance.

Lost is an absolutely incredible show. Stop yer complaining and take a great ride on the roller coaster.
~Dreamin'

[snowtires]

^^^^^^
exactly. there's a thing called pacing and it's something the writers should start looking into trying out.

[LostBoy]

that's kind of funny, if you think about it. read what i posted directly above your post, it has the definition of jumping the shark.

We probably posted at about the same time... I didn't see your post when I was writing the message. But I think that wikipedia's definition is off. It doesn't take into account the origins of the phrase. It originated from a Happy Days episode where the Fonz jumps a pool of sharks in a motorcycle. So if you take that into account, it clearly refers to a point where a show turns to a ridiculous story line and it becomes obvious that the writer's have run dry with inspiration. Wikipedia'a definition refers to the website jumptheshark.com. Go there. Right on the main page:

It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on... it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it jumping the shark.

Look at the page for lost. They are referring to moments in the show, not a general decline in quality.

So yes, people do use words and phrases without understanding their meaning. Including, it seems, wikipedia.

[wharf rat]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

they also shot themselves in the foot by having so many 'main' characters. there are so many regular members of the cast, no wonder they're killing one off, it's becoming impossible to write for, what, 16 main characters? how much screen time have charlie, claire, shannon and sayid had for this entire season? like five minutes total? to that effect, do we really even need charlie, claire or shannon to tell this story? most of us know that one of those three is a goner in november, i'm betting the other two won't be far behind.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I think in the first season they were going to kill off a few of them but when the fans started coming out of the woodwork JJ hung on to all of them.. As you say, too many now, They are paying salaries to all these people who have not even been on this years epidsodes yet. THis can't go on, got to kill some off to save $$$ 8)

[snowtires]

i'm pretty sure both definitions are one and the same, albeit worded a little differently. i think maybe you're interpreting jumptheshark.com's in a slightly skewed way.

jumping the shark is the point in time to which you can look back and say 'it all went downhill right around here.' i think this thread's creator is saying that he thinks lost may have jumped the shark after the first season.

you can't watch a show and say, 'riiiiight.... NOW! that's where this series jumped the shark. lost jumped the shark at exactly 9:25 est, october 19th 2005.' that's ridiculous.

some people would claim the simpsons jumped the shark after season ____, some people say the x-files jumped the shark after the movie and some say after season 7, but there's not a precise moment in time. that's not what jumping the shark means. of course that website has individual listings for when a series has jumped the shark. have you read them? 95% of them are from spiteful internet geeks, it's like reading aint it cool news.

a character doesn't have to jump over a shark on water skis for a series to jump the shark, there just has to be a significant loss in creativity or direction.

this was totally off subject and i'm sorry for the rant. i was an english major and a pop-culture freak, so i tend to get bothered by these kinds of things.

[hurleysmybuddy]

As you can see by the category listings on jumpingtheshark.com, normally you do refer to some stupid stunt or twist in the story line when you say a show jumped the shark. Nobody is suggesting that an *actual* shark has to be jumped. It's a metaphor--we all know that. And it is usually something seen in retrospect only, as opposed to watching the show and knowing the second it happens. But the fact that this perspective is needed (looking back over the history of a show) is just another reason why it's silly to ask the question now.

[LostBoy]

this was totally off subject and i'm sorry for the rant. i was an english major and a pop-culture freak, so i tend to get bothered by these kinds of things.

I think we're probably both guilty of the same thing... taking an ill-defined pop-culture term and treating it like it has been well defined. I'm just figuring that the Happy Days episode plus the site "jumptheshark", if wikipedia is correct in giving so much of the credit for coining the phrase to that site, are indicating that "jumping the shark" is a specific moment, so indeed you would say "Lost jumped the shark when they discovered the tail end passengers also survived/Claire returned from her kidnapping with amnesia/the Monster ate the pilot". But I wouldn't want to get too wrapped up in the semantics of something that really doesn't have a well defined meaning.

The reason why I don't think Lost has "jumped the shark", whatever that may be, is because I see the recent episodes as a temporary dry spell. Nothing much has happened on the island, and the character flashbacks haven't been all that interesting. But I see nothing to indicate that "it's all downhill from here" as the website indicates. Obviously the writers are going to eventually have to kick the story into motion, hopefully during the next episode. That may be the moment Lost "jumps the shark", but I think it's only fair to wait until then to make a judgement.

[Max Power 79]

Hey, I just lost my car keys - thats a whole episode right there. Look at me walking around, look at me talk to people. Wow this is Exciting!!!! Look at the grass grow, look at the trees, they're pretty.

[DaBadGuy]

It's no secret that I LOVE saying "jump the shark". I'm old enough to remember the Fonz' original shark jump! But I must say, the pinpoint shark-jumping moment in Lost....... and I'm just being honest here........ was when Jack and Locke fired up the projector in the hatch, and the "Dharma" film started up. That was the point at which my lofty expectations were mercilessly crushed. I still watch, I'm still interested, but Season 1 was near-perfection. Season 2 is an ABC drama series. I was the same way with "The Matrix." I thought the first two movies were SO good and original, the 3rd was just a huge disappointment. But if the first Matrix movie sucked, you'd never hear me complain about the 2nd or 3rd, because I'd have never seen them.

[LoStMyMiNd]

To each his own. Obviously the writers of this show cannot please everyone so maybe the ones that feel the show has jumped the shark, will move on and watch something else that has more value to them.

[slimjim]

dabadguy are you serious, because I thought the orientation episode, and the orientation film itself were EXCELENT! I think Jack should have spent some effort to extract some more information from Desmond, but hey. That episode really made me lean to the experiment angle.

[Froshaka]

I agree with slimjim. I think you guys are nuts if you think the show is worse now. :D :D :D :D

I think that the first three episodes of this season were great in the way they were shown (alternating perspectives of the same 12 hr period)..

The last two episodes havent been as good as the first three but they've definitely been as good as most of the season one episodes. i think that if you guys would go back and watch some of Season one's middle episodes you'll see that not a whole lot happens to advance the overall major story arc. During season one, with the exception of the pilot, exodus and a handful of episodes (2 or 3), most of them were pretty slow with the meat of the episode being whoever's flashback.

I think that after the long hiatus between season one and two that we got such a HUGE boatload of answers and new ideas in the first three episodes that it has made us expect lots of answers at a regular pace. But, you guys forget that the show was NEVER like that during season one. I also think there are a lot of people who only watched the first season on DVD and are frustrated by the slow pace. But these same people would have abandoned the show during season one if they had actually had to wait over the course of nearly a year to see the whole thing.

[DaBadGuy]

I'm not saying that all is lost (no pun intended), just that things are on a downhill slide. I thought the "DHARMA" thing was a catch-all explanation for anything that has happened or will happen throughout the rest of the series, not to mention a little cliche and contrived by 'Lost' standards. Where will they go with it? Maybe it'll be the greatest story ever told when all is said and done. I'm just saying that the last few episodes have been slow and not stellarly written. "....And Found" was no way to go into a 2-week hiatus. Obviously big things are on the horizon for November, so I'll continue to watch and hope for the best.

Here's some T&S for all you cheap bastards who won't fall for the EZ Board trap....... I'm becoming more and more fearful with each flashback that these memories have been completely fabricated and somehow given to the survivors. I think that's why they are all connected. I hope that isn't the case, because I want there to be some grand scheme to everything. Go ahead and point me to another thread, I'm still not paying!

[bergsuk]

Please comment on Shark-Jumping in the original thread:

p073.ezboard.com/flostthe...41&stop=60 (http://p073.ezboard.com/flosttheunofficalforumfortheabcseriesfrm2.showMess ageRange?topicID=4974.topic&start=41&stop=60)

Thank you, Namaste, and good luck.

[sawyerhasbestlines]

Or is it time for a Mork and Mindy-style spinoff?


I was thinking about Mork and Mindy the other day, wondering what ever became of Mindy.

Then I thought of Ana Lucia's sleevless bomber jacket, and decided she's like the Fonz.

Well, so far we've got a suitable ski boat, and a leather jacket. Will, Ana get towed behind the boat and jump a shark for the season 2 cliffhanger. It's entirely possible.

[123 Blink]

well, all i can say is that i CAN wait 3 weeks for the new episode because it'll take me two weeks to calm down from how pissed i am about this episode.

I can wait too. Not because I'm pissed, but because I'm highly disappointed. The first episode of S2 seemed promising, but from there on, it has gone downhill IMO.

Hopefully TPTB are paying attention to these forums and will get the message from all the disappointment expressed by so many of us. Maybe they'll take these three weeks and get their act together! :\

[jmwheeler]

Who is to say your not being setup? Meaningless stories (ie Sun's meal with a stranger) have a way of becoming important down the road. Have we learned nothing from obsessive viewership?

[face2off]

Meaningless stories (ie Sun's meal with a stranger) have a way of becoming important down the road.

Exactly.

How do we know that guy the white woman he met in America couldn't be Shannon or someone else, or maybe he is the Nephew of Dr. Candle. I know I am pulling these cases out of my arse but never say never or stuff is unrelated when it comes to "Lost" if you do you are not watching the same show I am watching....everything is connected....so be happy Brotha...

Only thing I am not happy about this season is how easily they let Desmond walk away....come on you just found a guy in a Hatch on an Island that you thought was deserted...come on just human nature will make you stay on him like white on rice...but even that has to be important...just you watch and see.

[mapinguaris rock]

Oh my god you people frustrate me sometimes!

Jumped the Shark? Are you out of your mind?

You aren't even 30 episodes into this series. You have NO frame of reference from which to judge whether or not the series has passed it's peak. Talk to me again in four or five years and we can have a serious discussion as to when that occurred, but for now, this discussion isn't even reasonable.

Look, many of you have expectations that are just WAY too high. Why in the world do you think that this show should be about relentlessly building up the island mythology? It's not. The producers have said this. Why don't you complainers understand that?!? Judge an episode on it's merits as a story (holy crap, this TV show is about stories!), not on how much new mythology it divulges or on whether it was fast paced enough for you.

To the "fan" who said something to this effect: "I watched an hour of that to see a teddy bear... that I already saw in the previews." Did you miss the hour of storytelling that was going on? Or would you prefer to just sit down and watch a highlights reel with just mythology reveals? Do you care about these characters at all? Why are you watching this show, since it is explicitly about these (very interesting, imo) characters, and not whatever else you want it to be?

Damn. Just let Lost be Lost. It's a great show. Stop trying to make it something it isn't (and the don't complain when you feel let down that it isn't something that it never aspired to be).

[Chance Gardener]

Folks here have been saying LOST jumped the shark (and both definitions are correct) since the 3rd episode. I personally enjoyed the last new episode and thought that instead of putting paid to Jin's storyline, it actually opened it up. Were Libby not to die (as I am guessing), I could see an interesting love quandrangle between Libby-Michael-Sun-Jin forming up.

The complaint, or rather observation, about the large ensemble has been made before for other shows. Even shows with manageable ensembles, such as Bablyon 5 or The Waltons, had difficulties fitting in all the characters in any meaningful basis full-time.

I think that what everyone is wanting is each show to have a Locke in a wheelchair moment. In the back of our minds, we are hoping to be surprised and amazed at a reveal that had all the clues given to us and yet still takes us all by surprise. And yet I am sure you will be able to find that there are people who thought Locke's episode was manipulatory and deceptive and poorly acted.

In general, I think the claim that most folks are upset because they are impatient is fairly close to the mark. I like the drawing out of the storyline. That you have to remember events from 3, 4, or 7 episodes ago and use that to place the current episode into context. I also know that a show like LOST is a lot more organic in today's world than it would have been even 5 years ago. It will respond more quickly to the fans and as such, will inevitably have changes made in the course of its plotline.

For example, even before the Pilot was finished, Jack went from being killed and Kate emerging as the leader, to staying alive. This has put Kate's storylines more into the background. The original popularity of Dom Monaghan is why the Hobbit Hanging didn't take. The current popularity of Sawyer and of Sayid means they are probably going to see more screen time than they did last year.

But the show, no matter by whichever definition one cares to use, did not jump the shark. Nor was the episode bad.

[DaBadGuy]

I can't believe this thread is still going on. That alone is proof that there's trouble in paradise. Well, at least on Craphole Island.

"Oh my god you people frustrate me sometimes!" You people? Who are you, man? H. Ross Perot? Oh yeah, I'll make a point to look you up in 5 years so we can have a nice long discussion about Lost.

And for those who suggest that I'm impatient, YOU'RE RIGHT!
I'm officially writing my own episode. Here goes:

(DaBadGuy grabs Locke, begins to shake him violently) How did you get in the wheelchair, man? (DaBadGuy storms into the hatch and pops open a Dharma light beer. Motions to Hurley) Clean this place up! (DaBadGuy walks over to Dr. Jack, points at Kate) What the hell's wrong with you, man? Look at her! By the way, what happened to your hot wife? (DaBadGuy examines Turniphead closely) Doesn't look all that special to me. He needs changing! (Hands Turniphead back to Claire and the Hobbit.) And now for the grand finale...... DaBadGuy finds Shannon and Sayid on a romantic beach. Sayid threatens DaBadGuy, but DaBadGuy distracts him by showing him a piece of wire on the ground. DaBadGuy approaches Shannon, raises a coconut over his head, and begins to pummel her with it! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE! It's November Sweeps already!

That, my friends, is great television.

[kev7161]

I'm still enjoying Lost, however I do wish they'd answer, what, one mystery every 3 or 4 episodes. As someone previously listed - - there are a helluva lot of 'em and new ones being added every week. X-Files got too convoluted near the last couple of seasons and my interest waned. Twin Peaks shared the same fate. Lots of weird, somewhat interesting things, but very little resolution. Alias is another good example of an (almost) great show that seems to have lost its way.

I wish they'd spread their episodes around instead of just focusing on a couple of plot/story lines. I mean, we haven't really seen the hatch goings on/mysteries for 3 episodes now. I do like the excitement of what will happen next, but I'd feel more satisfied if a few questions were actually answered. I just hope the first few eps are building up to something great by spring.

[DocLock]

Really, how on Earth could a shark's dorsal fin have the Dharma logo on it? At least the polar bear is vaguely plausible. Discuss.

[BriRedfern]

I think the shark was bread with a Dharma Pigment gene on chromosome 183.

This will all be explained next season.

[Rodney]

Two options

1. It was a robot.
2. It was geneticly engineered and branded before released into the water.

Either way, I believe the purpose was security related, another chip in place to keep them on the island.

[Blackhawk]

The shark is either Dr. Marvin Candle, or possibly Alvar Hanso himself. Doesn't anyone remember the show Manimal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manimal), with Dr. Jonathon Chase?

Obviously, Dr. Chase was one of the Dharma fore-fathers, and was a pioneer in the art of shapeshifting (ironically, in one episode of Manimal, he actually turned into a dolphin and fought a shark).

[Noav Sigless]

What exactly is not plausible? Are you saying it's impossible to capture and tag a live shark?

[Sopherocious]

I agree that capturing and tagging sharks is completely possible with a team of marine biologists. Now, WHY Dharma would want to is another matter.

I seem to remember hearing that when the episode aired as a rerun, the logo had been edited out and there was no symbol on the shark. Does anyone know for sure if this is true?

[bandjo97]

I thought I read somewhere that the Dharma logo on the shark was a mistake and was never supposed to be there.

Obviously it doesn't help that I don't have any site or article to refer to... I'll search.

[LPU]

I thought it was said that the shark "branding" was basically done by some bored guys in post and has been/will be removed from any subsequent viewings.

I think that it's courtesy of LostPedia, so take it for what it's worth.

[Rodney]

Well, millions of people saw it. So to act like it didnt happen would be ignorant, they should embrace it and explain it at some point.

[Mysterious Mike]

Dharma shark main thread http://www.losttv-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6868&highlight=shark

[Hurley4Prez]

The shark is either Dr. Marvin Candle, or possibly Alvar Hanso himself.:p:p:p

[soupsmoke]

i think every animal on the show is created by darma. they were smart about showing the shark while they were in the water. another element to show they should not leave. good placement in the series, in my opinion.

[sculpey]

What else are a bunch of shark wranglers supposed to do when they're stranded on an island?

[*Saint*]

Haven't we talked about this before??? :confused:

[Blackhawk]

i think every animal on the show is created by darma.

Or was Dharma created by the animals?

Hey, has anyone noticed the numbers add up to 108?

[DreaminLost]

Haven't we talked about this before??? :confused:
Baby, there aint nothin that haint been talked to death already.

But I'm always up for a good re-discussion! What are we going to do all summer??

[*Saint*]

Baby, there aint nothin that haint been talked to death already.

But I'm always up for a good re-discussion! What are we going to do all summer??

I guess you're right...

[LostInWilderness]

Take your pick which shark thread you want to add to in GD. I'm moving this to Guys...

[OhioSteve1]

The shark logo was not meant to be seen easily. It was just for us, the dedicated fans. When normal people saw it, tptb made it less obvious. In the rerun, you had to use screen captures to find it.

[we'realllostinsomeway]

I saw it the first time it ran, and I thought it was just a cool easter egg.

[Shardyk]

It wasn't supposed to be that easily visible.

The polar bears are undergoing gene therapy, so its entirely possible they are performing experience on the sharks.

[DocLock]

The tagging idea is very possible, I'll accede to that. The shark appears to be of the blue or mako species based upon its phenotype. Is it possible that what appears to be the Dharma logo is actually the genitalia of a female shark?? I have read that sharks are very violent during consortium, so this could possibly explain the ragged "symbol within a circle...yin yangy" appearance. Are there any marine biologists out there that have seen female shark genitalia up close and can confirm or deny the plausibility of this?

:drinky: :DeadHorse: :Booky: ;) :p :ImLost: