Suspending disbelief

[Stu1961]

Anything in particular stick in your craw?

- Physics and/or probabilities of the crash and survivors?
- The islands 16 year old power source?
- The creature?

So far, none of the above bother me. There need to be certain "givens" to establish their predicament, otherwise you may as well ask why the survivors haven't spotted the ABC film crews.:lol

What does bother me is the near total disregard for basic survival tactics - food, water, and shelter. Add into that, protection against a large, incredibly dangerous carnivore (even if the worst thing on the island is polar bears), and they should not be sitting out on the beach. They have touched on "food" with the fish and boars, but not searching for a fresh water source (other than waiting and collecting rainfall) is NOT acceptable. No fresh water = they die pretty quickly. Unless they want to become the food source - shelter from the elements and defense/weapons need to be addressed. Locke's knives would not be very effective against another bear. I cannot even guess where they could safely hide (the trees? - can polar bears climb?)

Perhaps the decision to leave the beach and risk the unknown of the jungle and "the creature" is the device the writers will use to create a rift among the survivors.

[JacksGirlfriend]

Considering what they've "seen" so far, I would seriously be considering building a fort in the highest spot I could find. Whatever the "creature" is, I doubt it's agile enough to climb those cliffs. Besides a high spot would allow more visibility for signal fires and the like.

I think they'll have to move soon.

JacksGirl

[azteclady]

I enjoy speculating on the three things you mention, plus the polar bear, because I hope to find a way to answer all of them in a self-consistent manner. It doesn't have to be one answer for all, but the answer for one shouldn't contradict the answer for the others.

As for the survival thing...

I think the writers have to show some serious issues with, and significant actions taken regarding this soon - by the sixth episode at the most. A week of inertia on the part of most of the survivors doesn't strain my willingness to suspend disbelief unduly, though.

I see 48 people from very different backgrounds. Many of them could very well still be on shock. Many could be in staunch denial of the reality that rescue is not imminent -think Shannon, even though she was in the hike and heard the long-running distress call.

Many could simply not know how to begin to hunt or fish or build a shelter - I have never gone camping nor fishing nor hunting, for example. Also, this is a small group, and it doesn't represent all segments of the population in one given town, let alone around the world. We have only people who could afford to fly from Sydney to Los Angeles (raise your hand if you are with me - I can't), or had some pretty serious reasons to get in debt in order to do it. So far, the only survivalist seems to be Locke - mostly in his head, from books, no practical knowledge. The only one with military training is Sayid/Saeed/Syed, and all we know is that he's a communications expert - how much survival training did he get?

Beto

Polar bears trees: hmmmmmmm there are no trees in their natural habitat, as far as I know, but then, there should be no polar bears in the South Pacific :D

[drypelia]

The lack of attention to survival needs doesn't bother me yet. They've been on the ground 4-5 days. They're really still in shock. They probably can't quite believe the situation they're in, and are absolutely SURE they'll be rescued soon. It wasn't until the party got back from hearing the French distress call that anything got organized toward survival. And even at that, only a few of them are starting to grasp the necessity for that. They've only just run out of food, and apparently the water crisis occurs next week. As for safety from beasts, except for the boars (a relatively minor threat), nothing has invaded the beach yet. As far as I can tell, most of them don't know about the terrors in the jungle. To tell you the truth, if I had survived an airplane crash, and that same night we heard some scary noises in the jungle, I would wonder the next morning if maybe we had exaggerated the scariness of the noises because we were all so shocky from the crash.

I think I would be questioning a lot of what I thought I was seeing and hearing, and I would likely be in some denial and trying to make the world seem as "normal" as possible by pretending that everything would magically work out very soon. Besides, the survivors still don't know they're going to be "Lost" for at least one full television season. Let's cut 'em some slack! :lol

I mostly have to suspend disbelief around the fact of there being any survivors at all, and the notion that there's some humongous critter in the jungle that makes strange noises and knocks down trees whereever it goes. If it moves much more, the whole island will be barren in no time.

I sometimes think that most of my problem in suspending disbelief is that I've read some of what the producers have said about the show. How can the whole thing be "grounded in reality," or use just "science or psuedo-science?" I know there are lots of theories on this board, but really, they seem to me to be reaching pretty far in order get this to make some sense. Especially if you toss in some other "outside the show" information like, there's nothing supernatural going on, but somehow the survivors all have something in common in some way. Talk about needing to suspend disbelief! :eek

I think that suspending disbelief is easier if I just focus on what I actually see on the show and let all the outside info fade away.

[OBlevins]

Well, I would have to say we are firmly in the world of pseudo-science and, therefore, a certain amount of 'suspension of disbelief' will be necessary. (You can't tell me the whole subplot around the Rambaldi devices on Alias can be grounded in science. And Lost is from the same creator, JJ Abrams. C'mon.) That still doesn't mean the story won't be good, tightly written, and one heck of a thrill ride. I have loved each episode of Lost so far.

As for the physics of the plane crash, we really don't exactly know what caused it or how a section of the plane could land on the beach so that 48 people could survive. As far as I know, only Kate has admitted to witnessing the entire accident from start to finish. Jack was unconscious and woke up after being thrown in the woods. Rose needed to be resuscitated. Locke was flat on his back on the beach and was more surprised by his miracle than the accident. At this point, we don't know what the other characters witnessed.

As for a power source that lasts 16 years, that doesn't seem to be overly incredible. It could be solar/wind/hydro power with rechargeable batteries or some such. A signal for 16 years needs a power source which both, in turn, indicates there is a probably a compound on the island or the components would have disintegrated in that time (we are in a tropical zone, after all). That means there may be shelter and other supplies that the survivors need.

At this point, I think the realization that immediate rescue is not going to happen is just setting in. I think in the next few episodes there will be a concerted effort to handle the necessities of survival (food, water, shelter). What bothers me is the decision to keep the signal a secret. If there is a compound on the island, there should be a concerted effort made to locate it rather than have just Kate, Sayid and a few others do it in secret. That wouldn't set well with me if I were one of the others.

As for the creature, I have speculated that it is at least partially mechanical. It doesn't really eat anything as far as I can tell but it does considerable damage to things in its path. Only Locke has seen it up close and he may not wish to divulge what he saw to anyone except Walt.

[16L43]

The number one thing I look for in a science fiction/fantasy program is a sense of wonder. I can abide a lot of technical inconsistencies (and just plain wrongheadedness) as long as it's done well and fits into that particular world...

I can still watch the original "Star Trek" 38 years after it's premiere and get past the papier mache boulders, men in lizard costumes and the (all too obvious) spaceship models. Likewise, I can watch and enjoy TNT's "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World" with it's dinosaurs, heroic characters and late 20th century morays, ignoring all the things that might make another person groan aloud . I enjoy both because the characters are well drawn, the stories good and the heroes win at the end of every hour (a little simplistic I'll admit but give me a well fleshed out hero and I'm a happy man!)

"Lost" has that same kind of "feel" for me and has won me over with how well it's executed!

[JacksGirlfriend]

I felt that way about Buffy and Angel. I'm glad to have found some kind of replacement. I'll take anything they throw at me as long as it makes sense in "this world."

JacksGirl

[16L43]

I'm afraid I could never get into the "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" series, though the Kristy Swanson movie continues to be one of my favorites. "Angel" before the whole Wolfram & Hart experience was entertaining but the last episode was (IMHO) one of the worst finale's I've ever seen...

[JacksGirlfriend]

I agree about the Angel finale. After investing 7 years of my life in Buffy and 5 in Angel and loving every second of it, I felt totally ripped off. I could not believe they were doing that to me. I was so disappointed in it.

JacksGirl