L.D.Q.A. -- 7/16
Back again this week with more of your questions. We definitely got our fair share this time around, so let's dive right into it.
Q: What would you like to see as the very first scene of S4? -- Nannie
A: If memory serves, the first scene of season 2 centered around a character we didn't know yet (Desmond) -- as did season 3 (Juliet). That said, I wouldn't mind a similar scene ... Jacob, perhaps?
Q: Have you noticed that most of the characters are only children? (Or, at any rate, the show doesn't mention many siblings.) Think about it: Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Sun, Jin, Hurley, Walt...none of them seem to have brothers or sisters. Charlie obviously has a brother, and I guess we can safely assume Locke has some siblings scattered around the country, too, but otherwise most of the characters were flying solo during childhood. I don't know if you'd make anything of it, but since a lot of people have pointed out the characters' various Daddy Issues, I thought I'd bring it into the discussion. -- Juliet
A: Well, Jack does have a half-sister in Claire, but otherwise you make an interesting point. I have always found that only children are the most magnificent of all of God's creatures. Why yes, I am an only child. Why do you ask?
Q: Hopefully you watch Big Brother, or at least know what the show is about otherwise this question might be hard to answer. If the Lost characters were the contestants on Big Brother, who do you think would make the final four, two, and the winner (I think I have an idea of who you might say for this one!)? -- Jamie
A: I do not watch "Big Brother" but I know how it works. Locke was my first choice as winner, but the strong players are usually kicked out because they are a threat. I think Sayid would come out on top. He's the perfect combination of a good person, a tactical thinker and he's well-loved. Sawyer wouldn't stand a chance.
Q: When you first saw the promos for LOST did you immediately know that you would watch it? -- Liz
A: Absolutely. Once I heard the premise, and that JJ Abrams was involved, I was in. But to honest -- much like I do now -- once I realized I wanted to see the show, I tried to avoid all promos because all they do is ruin things.
Q: Why do you think Locke doesn't have as much hate for his Mom as he does for his Dad? I mean, after, she gave him up and then came back into his life and sold him out to his father. -- Amber
A: I'm thinking it was because she didn't steal any of his organs or throw him out of a window. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best answer.
Q: After Ben shoots Locke, he asks Locke what Jacob said to him. The answer was, “Help me.” Ben says that he certainly hopes that Jacob helps Locke. As Locke is about to shoot himself, “Walt” appears. Once again, someone who is dead or not on the island appears to seemingly guide the island’s inhabitants down a certain path of events. Can we imply from Ben saying that he hopes Jacob helps Locke and “Walt” showing up to help, that Jacob controls these appearances? Or that Jacob is actually appearing to people in these different forms?
Think of how many major events on the island have occurred after these appearances. Jack sees his father and finds the caves and fresh water. Shannon sees Walt and gets shot (it was major for me because she was smokin hot). Eko sees his brother and gets killed by the monster. Ben sees his mother and finds the others. I think they are setting Jacob up to me this god-like character, which makes him asking Locke for help all the more confusing to me. Thoughts? -- Shannon
A: Long question, but a good one. My guess is that everything that is happening on the island is Jacob's doing. And by "happening" I mean all the visions you mentioned and the black smoke monster.
Q: If they are going to have a new character for next season of Lost, where do you hope this person is going to come from? -- Aly
A: Well, after last season's new characters worked out so well (HA!) I hope they don't introduce anyone new for next season -- we've got enough going on with the characters we have. That said, I imagine we'll have a few -- mainly, whoever was on the other end of Jack's phone. But again, some Jacob would be nice.
Q: What was the first episode in which you began to hate Charlie? -- Kristina
A: I was born to dislike Charlie Pace. It was ingrained in me from the womb.
Q: I suspect much of season 4 will have to do with Sun's pregnancy, any theories as to what will happen there? Will the baby survive & Sun will die? Will they both survive? Lets place our bets now, I'm going to say both mother and baby survive & it's a boy. -- Leilani
A: Each season has been a month on the island so far, so I don't know when Sun's pregnancy will come into play. That said, it reminds me a lot of Charlie's death in that they told us it was going to happen. Barring anything unforeseen, I don't see Sun making it -- but I think somehow the kid will.
Q: So reading your diary for "The Moth" you said Charlie was doomed from the beginning. You think there really is something to that? You think the island was trying to kill off Charlie from the beginning? and why was the island so mad at him? being as how you feel the same way. If Charlie's purpose for dying was to save the others (according to Desmond) how would him dying all those other times (rescuing Claire from drowning, the lightening etc.) really save all the others? -- George
A: I doubt that the producers had Charlie's death planned from the beginning -- I'll just chalk up the other near-death experiences to the fact he's an idiot. As for Charlie's ultimate purpose, I think helping him get to that point was Desmond's purpose. Their destinys were sort of intertwined, perhaps.
Q: So I was watching "The Wire" the other night, and I started wondering what it would be like if the casts of other shows had been on the jet that crashed. Would McNulty have been the Jack character? Conversely, how long would Charlie have lasted in West Baltimore? -- Allen
A: The thought of Charlie meeting the business end of Omar's shotgun is going to leave a smile on my face for the rest of the week.
Q: Say you were a producer of "Lost" and after the series finale you decided to spin off some of the characters into new shows. Which characters would you choose and what would their show be about?
A: I think I've mentioned this before, but I just want to spin off Locke and Henry Gale into some kind of buddy show along the lines of "Bosom Buddies" or "Perfect Strangers." Or perhaps some kind of "Crossfire" type show where they talk about the news of the day and interview George Stephanopoulos or something.
Q: Got Wii? Any plans to get one? -- Jay
A: Xbox360 for me. The new NCAA Football 2008 comes out this week and I probably won't leave my house other than to go to work and play basketball for like a month.
Q: OK, this one is more about you. Since you attended Syracuse, I assume for a journalism degree (we have an intern at my office that is going there for journalism). I was a newspaper reporter for years before selling out for marketing communications recently.
I keep telling the intern that she needs to look into a masters program. EVERY ONE my old newspaper group hired had a master’s — most of them from either Medill or from Mizzou (just not me). Would you tell her she needs it?
And, do you find the entertainment reporting fullfulling as a writer? I am curious. Several of the people I worked with (at a sun-times paper) including me have always thought it would be fun, but is it really? -- Janelle
A: I was a double major at the Cuse -- broadcast journalism and business. College was great, school I could have done without. I learned plenty, for sure, but I would have rather learned in the real world (i.e. working). But that's just me.
As for whether or not working at TMZ is fulfilling ... man, not the word I would use. Entertainment news is a part of society now and I do have a blast with it. As long as you never take it all too seriously, you'll be fine. That said, somewhere down the road, I'd rather be doing this kind of thing full time instead of writing about Britney and Lindsay and those types.
A: Well, Jack does have a half-sister in Claire, but otherwise you make an interesting point. I have always found that only children are the most magnificent of all of God's creatures. Why yes, I am an only child. Why do you ask?
Q: Hopefully you watch Big Brother, or at least know what the show is about otherwise this question might be hard to answer. If the Lost characters were the contestants on Big Brother, who do you think would make the final four, two, and the winner (I think I have an idea of who you might say for this one!)? -- Jamie
A: I do not watch "Big Brother" but I know how it works. Locke was my first choice as winner, but the strong players are usually kicked out because they are a threat. I think Sayid would come out on top. He's the perfect combination of a good person, a tactical thinker and he's well-loved. Sawyer wouldn't stand a chance.
Q: When you first saw the promos for LOST did you immediately know that you would watch it? -- Liz
A: Absolutely. Once I heard the premise, and that JJ Abrams was involved, I was in. But to honest -- much like I do now -- once I realized I wanted to see the show, I tried to avoid all promos because all they do is ruin things.
Q: Why do you think Locke doesn't have as much hate for his Mom as he does for his Dad? I mean, after, she gave him up and then came back into his life and sold him out to his father. -- Amber
A: I'm thinking it was because she didn't steal any of his organs or throw him out of a window. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best answer.
Q: After Ben shoots Locke, he asks Locke what Jacob said to him. The answer was, “Help me.” Ben says that he certainly hopes that Jacob helps Locke. As Locke is about to shoot himself, “Walt” appears. Once again, someone who is dead or not on the island appears to seemingly guide the island’s inhabitants down a certain path of events. Can we imply from Ben saying that he hopes Jacob helps Locke and “Walt” showing up to help, that Jacob controls these appearances? Or that Jacob is actually appearing to people in these different forms?
Think of how many major events on the island have occurred after these appearances. Jack sees his father and finds the caves and fresh water. Shannon sees Walt and gets shot (it was major for me because she was smokin hot). Eko sees his brother and gets killed by the monster. Ben sees his mother and finds the others. I think they are setting Jacob up to me this god-like character, which makes him asking Locke for help all the more confusing to me. Thoughts? -- Shannon
A: Long question, but a good one. My guess is that everything that is happening on the island is Jacob's doing. And by "happening" I mean all the visions you mentioned and the black smoke monster.
Q: If they are going to have a new character for next season of Lost, where do you hope this person is going to come from? -- Aly
A: Well, after last season's new characters worked out so well (HA!) I hope they don't introduce anyone new for next season -- we've got enough going on with the characters we have. That said, I imagine we'll have a few -- mainly, whoever was on the other end of Jack's phone. But again, some Jacob would be nice.
Q: What was the first episode in which you began to hate Charlie? -- Kristina
A: I was born to dislike Charlie Pace. It was ingrained in me from the womb.
Q: I suspect much of season 4 will have to do with Sun's pregnancy, any theories as to what will happen there? Will the baby survive & Sun will die? Will they both survive? Lets place our bets now, I'm going to say both mother and baby survive & it's a boy. -- Leilani
A: Each season has been a month on the island so far, so I don't know when Sun's pregnancy will come into play. That said, it reminds me a lot of Charlie's death in that they told us it was going to happen. Barring anything unforeseen, I don't see Sun making it -- but I think somehow the kid will.
Q: So reading your diary for "The Moth" you said Charlie was doomed from the beginning. You think there really is something to that? You think the island was trying to kill off Charlie from the beginning? and why was the island so mad at him? being as how you feel the same way. If Charlie's purpose for dying was to save the others (according to Desmond) how would him dying all those other times (rescuing Claire from drowning, the lightening etc.) really save all the others? -- George
A: I doubt that the producers had Charlie's death planned from the beginning -- I'll just chalk up the other near-death experiences to the fact he's an idiot. As for Charlie's ultimate purpose, I think helping him get to that point was Desmond's purpose. Their destinys were sort of intertwined, perhaps.
Q: So I was watching "The Wire" the other night, and I started wondering what it would be like if the casts of other shows had been on the jet that crashed. Would McNulty have been the Jack character? Conversely, how long would Charlie have lasted in West Baltimore? -- Allen
A: The thought of Charlie meeting the business end of Omar's shotgun is going to leave a smile on my face for the rest of the week.
Q: Say you were a producer of "Lost" and after the series finale you decided to spin off some of the characters into new shows. Which characters would you choose and what would their show be about?
A: I think I've mentioned this before, but I just want to spin off Locke and Henry Gale into some kind of buddy show along the lines of "Bosom Buddies" or "Perfect Strangers." Or perhaps some kind of "Crossfire" type show where they talk about the news of the day and interview George Stephanopoulos or something.
Q: Got Wii? Any plans to get one? -- Jay
A: Xbox360 for me. The new NCAA Football 2008 comes out this week and I probably won't leave my house other than to go to work and play basketball for like a month.
Q: OK, this one is more about you. Since you attended Syracuse, I assume for a journalism degree (we have an intern at my office that is going there for journalism). I was a newspaper reporter for years before selling out for marketing communications recently.
I keep telling the intern that she needs to look into a masters program. EVERY ONE my old newspaper group hired had a master’s — most of them from either Medill or from Mizzou (just not me). Would you tell her she needs it?
And, do you find the entertainment reporting fullfulling as a writer? I am curious. Several of the people I worked with (at a sun-times paper) including me have always thought it would be fun, but is it really? -- Janelle
A: I was a double major at the Cuse -- broadcast journalism and business. College was great, school I could have done without. I learned plenty, for sure, but I would have rather learned in the real world (i.e. working). But that's just me.
As for whether or not working at TMZ is fulfilling ... man, not the word I would use. Entertainment news is a part of society now and I do have a blast with it. As long as you never take it all too seriously, you'll be fine. That said, somewhere down the road, I'd rather be doing this kind of thing full time instead of writing about Britney and Lindsay and those types.
Comments
Great questions and answers Daniel and some made me laugh out loud. See you Thursday :).
Posted by: ♥ Susan ♥ | July 15, 2007 10:43 PM
I think you may have missed the purpose of why Desmond rescued Charlie all those other times. It wasn't because Charlie is stupid, it was because if Desmond hadn't rescued him Charlie would not have lived to be able to break the code in the Looking Glass. He was the only musician on the island and so if he had died before, no one could have made contact. Pretty simple.
Posted by: jbdean | July 16, 2007 03:43 AM
i really dont want to learn about Jacob this early in the game. knowing more about him this early i think would spoil Lost for me. we have 3 more seasons... make the mystery last.
Posted by: sarah | July 16, 2007 05:26 AM
Daniel, thanks for posting my question about the spinoff show. I was telling my husband about my question to you and he actually said that he would like to see somekind of prequel to Lost. More specifically about the biggest characters like Locke and every thing that happened to him before getting on the island. More than just flashbacks, but more indepth stories about his adventures, at the pot camp for example. Or Kate and how she hid and traveled across the world hiding from the Marshal.
SARAH: Totally agree with you. I would like to see or hear just a bit more on Jacob, just enough to tease and not give anything away. What I totally want to hear is what is up with that big FOOT!!
Posted by: Janice (formerly Belle) | July 16, 2007 07:20 AM
Daniel, I love the idea of a news talk show with Locke and Henry. Just thinking about it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. The whole Bosom Buddies/Perfect Strangers thing made me laugh so hard!
Posted by: cathead67 | July 16, 2007 09:08 AM
Hi Daniel- Hi all!
Thanks for answering my question Daniel...though I still believe that Locke should hate his Mother as much as his father for doing what they both did to him... as for the question about the Lost characters spinning off into a show- I think the Office would be perfect for them......I can see it now...
Amber
Posted by: Amber | July 16, 2007 09:31 AM
Personally, I'd like a spinoff show with Sawyer, Desmond and Jin ... the three of them, living in the big city, scamming on the girls ...
Or, Rosseau could do a "Woman vs. Wild" ala the Discovery Channel.
Rose and Bernard could do a daytime talk show, a Marriage Counselling thing, sort Dr. Phil-like. Since Bernard is a dentist, they could add in some "extreme makeover" dental visits.
Charlie's spin off would be a reality show for washed up rock stars ... oh, wait, now we have "Rock of Love" so no need for him ...
Hurley's reality show would be about how the numbers cursed him, lotto win or not ...
Posted by: Janelle | July 16, 2007 11:04 AM
Oh, and Daniel, I disagree about Sayid making it that far in Big Brother. I think Sawyer and Kate would make it down to the final, because both of them are con men. They can get people to do things for them without the person knowing why they want to help them out. Sayid would be too strong of a player, and too honest in his dealings with the group.
Have we discussed yet who, other than Charlie, would be last to get voted off the Island? Again, those who are best at doing very little but finessing people often are the winners
Posted by: Janelle | July 16, 2007 11:10 AM
Oh, I would LOVE a show...all about SAWYER!
Right Lauren?!
Posted by: Janice (formerly Belle) | July 16, 2007 11:20 AM
I think I would like a spinoff like "The Real World: Back in Civilization." Or a Locke and Jacob spinoff where they are still on the island after everyone leaves.
Posted by: cathead67 | July 16, 2007 12:24 PM
Wait, now I am having flashbacks of Gilligan's Island, after they got off the island then came back and made it a resort location with the Harlem Globetrotters ....
Posted by: Janelle | July 16, 2007 01:51 PM
Doesn't Hurley have a brother that has a wife that leaves him right after Hurley wins the lottery? I remember they showed him when they were interviewing the family on TV and his Grandpa dropped dead and then Hurley's mother is talking about how the she left his brother for some other woman. So Hurley isn't an only child either.
Posted by: Jennifer | July 16, 2007 02:01 PM
Janice, i'm totally with you!!! of COURSE i would want a show all about Sawyer!! i'd prefer it on HBO though, so we can see some skin :) and steamier love scenes!
Dan, i have a question for you. when are you going to respond to my evite?!!!
Posted by: Lauren, the LOST Nazi | July 16, 2007 02:06 PM
Hurley's brother's name in Diego and his wife's name is Lisa or something like that. I knew I wasn't crazy.
Posted by: Jennifer | July 16, 2007 02:14 PM
I keep having visions of Omar whistling Farmer in the Dell while going to get "his boy" back from the Others.
Posted by: Melissa | July 16, 2007 09:29 PM
Daniel,
Thanks for posting my question and I just happen to agree with your answer. I would LOVE to see them open S4 with something about Jacob. I don't want the whole story, just some more info. I think that when Jacob's entire story is told, we will then learn all or most of the secrets of the island. If that's true, then it definitely needs to be given to us in small doses.
The questions this week were great, guys!! And Daniel, the answers were great too!!
You know, I don't believe in coincidences and you said you'd really rather be doing something like this full time. Well, you have a great audience here. People love what you do. You're a great writer and for us, the readers, being able to interact with you makes it that much more interesting. This could grow, change, morph into a wonderful "something". Just keep doing what ya love. You might stumble onto something...and you can tell Harvey that the Island made you do it......bwaahahahahahahhaa
Posted by: Nannie | July 16, 2007 09:30 PM
Jennifer, you're right, I forgot about Hurley's brother. (Didn't his wife leave him for another woman?) So we can knock Hurley off the list of only children. I guess I brought it up because most of the characters have typical only-child behavior--independent, bull-headed, intelligent--and that behavior has shaped how they act on the island, for good or for ill.
Posted by: Juliet | July 17, 2007 09:21 AM
I also want to hear a little about Jacob, maybe just how he came to be on the island or something, but not the whole story. I have a feeling he's going to be playing a big, big part and I'd rather wait it out some, to not spoil the other seasons.
Personally, I am hoping for some Danielle backstory, since I seem to have become so obessed with her character during this long, long wait. There's just something there, I know it. Since we haven't had a backstory on her, is it crazy to assume that she is Annie, Ben's childhood friend? And that whatever was used to poison the original Dharma members screwed up her head or something?
And if she's not, then who is and where is Annie? Because I have a hard time believing Ben would have let her be killed, since she was his best friend, and really the only person he was close to during his childhood.
Posted by: ssmcbroom | July 17, 2007 10:15 AM
Janelle: As a working arts journalist, I would like to echo Daniel's point about learning your craft on the job, NOT in school. (You were probably just as good a reporter as your MA-burdened colleagues, Janelle!) Please advise your intern/friend that the path to becoming a solid pro writer involves MORE writing, not more school.
I went to one of those fancy-pants colleges without pre-professional majors such as journalism. So I sought out opportunities to ask the big-name pros--who loved to come by such ivy-covered places for talks and teas--what kind of training I should pursue. ALL counseled plenty of boning up on a real subject area (I studied history and music history); none recommended journalism school. The most dismissive about J-school was none other than Uncle Walter (Cronkite, that is) himself, who called it Trenchcoat 101.
I did end up getting an MA (in history)--and there's always time to go back to school after working for a few years, if your young friend feels the need. But this is how many people at my paper went to J-school: 1, and we're a thriving, award-winning alt-weekly, where some of the freelancers (myself included) also write for national mags, and have published books as well.
The writing life is a great one--not an easy one, but a great one if you have the chops. But the only way to find out is to plunge in. More school is another procrastination technique, in my book. The best motto is a cheesy one: Just do it.
Sorry for the off-topic rant, Daniel. But I hope Janelle's young friend is inspired by all the outlets that exist today for new writers! Like, say, working for my favorite secret study break throughout the day: TMZ! (Wish I knew which posts were yours, D. I bet they're the sauciest, best-written ones. There's some really kick-ass clever writing on the site, and it IS appreciated!)
The J-school-heavy, MA-laden, daily paper newsroom of the mainstream media is yesterday's news--not what the intern should be training for. A better way to procrastinate: post to a really cool blog. Great writing calesthenics, cool fellow posters...and a lot cheaper than two years holed up with some musty profs who couldn't hack it in the Real World of deadlines and word counts.
Posted by: vermonter | July 17, 2007 04:49 PM
Vermonter
Thanks, I needed that. I never thought I needed a Masters Degree before, but it was awful lonely in my last newsroom, being one of the few there who didn't have a masters. (Not to mention, I never though my ME liked me because he didn't hire me). It didn't seem to matter that I put in six years in the trenches (one weekly, one daily, one biweekly) before I got to where I was at, or that I was there for seven years and was widely liked by readers and sources :). The newbies straight out of j-school (some of them were complete idiots) were getting higher starting salaries than I was making. I know, no one goes into print journalism to make money, and they also have larger school loans, but it was disheartening. There are a few editor out there who still think everyone needs a master's degree, particularly in the Chicago news market. I never thought any of them were the least bit better than me :) But, I want to try something else for awhile and do this marketing communications thing and see what happens. I was getting burned out on cops and death and city council/school board meetings. I covered a dozen fatal accidents last year, and it got to me.
I am not going to tell the intern to look into grad school, but to keep her options open. I AM going to make sure that next summer, she gets an internship at one of the STNG papers, which will help her future out more than this gig.
Posted by: Janelle | July 18, 2007 08:12 AM
Hey, Janelle: Sounds like you got out of a newsroom where office politics and egos counted more than the quality of one's writing and reporting. A real pit of testoterone-fueled vipers, probably, and I'm glad you escaped with your sanity intact. As for the salary discrepancy: let me guess--did the guys get paid more than the women by any chance?
Judging someone's worth based on a degree on the wall is the sign of a major character defect, in my opinion. There's only one thing that should count in this biz: clips. Can you put the words on the page, on time and on word count? If your readers and your sources like you, that's a big sign you're doing something right. [While I was writing this post, a lovely email just popped in my box from the guy I profiled this week, thanking me for the piece! :-)]
I do some business writing too, and it's a nice counterweight to the arts stuff. So, without knowing you, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that an interlude in the B-world is going to refresh you, so you'll be tanned, rested and ready to jump back into the J-world when the time is right. I would strongly recommend looking into the alt-weekly universe--Chicago must have a few. I, for one, never want to go back to writing on overnight deadline (3 years was enough!). Even though opera and classical music reviewing featured CONSIDERABLY fewer fatalities than the kind of news coverage you had to do, caffeine- and sugar-fueled allnighters are best left to the twentysomethings of the world. Working for a weekly gives you time to mull and craft and tinker--as well as sleep 8 hours when you so choose.
Good luck, Janelle, and good plan with the advice for the intern. She SHOULD throw herself into a daily newsroom, and see if she's cut out for the biz after all!
Posted by: vermonter | July 18, 2007 01:00 PM
Aciphex vx. protonix. Protonix 40mg. Protonix for acid reflux. Substitute generic drug for protonix
Posted by: Dogs and protonix | February 7, 2008 05:46 PM
Can greyhounds take amoxicillin. Amoxicillin and strep throat. Amoxicillin no prescription. Amoxicillin to treat acne
Posted by: Amoxicillin online no prescription | February 12, 2008 04:24 AM
Viagra sales uk. Mexican viagra. Best price for generic viagra. Natural viagra alternatives
Posted by: Women and viagra | February 12, 2008 06:26 AM
Online poker casino. Online slot machine www.casino-slot-machine.net. Creating an online casino. Online slot machine www.casino-slot-machine.net
Posted by: Casino free online | February 12, 2008 06:58 AM