LOST - on ABC in HDTV - NO SPOILERS - Page 60  

I'm sure repeats will air after the November sweeps.

It's not like 24 where they HAVE to go in sequence. These backstories are self-contained almost. There is very little of the main plot -- the mysteries about the island and whether they will survive, be rescued, etc. -- being advanced right now.

So really, you could have them replay episode 5 then do 2 then do 7 and it's not going to really break that much continuity.

Why should they necessarily have bad breath and no toothbrushes? It's only been 12 days and there's lots of luggage around...what do you pack for a plane ride? Toothbrush and toothpaste...if it's not your toothbrush, just boil it for a while to sterilize it.

Yes, this last episode had my wife groaning some... "What's with all the stereo-typing?"

I mean, come on... we got an Iraqi (ex-republican guard) who just happened to be up on practices of torture... Which may fit, but still.... The one Iraqi on the plane just happens to be this type of guy? I guess all Iraqi's fit this description? I think the writers need to be more careful about stereo-typing the characters.

Hopefully this weeks episode will bring us back to some of the more interesting story lines...

There's always going to be stereotyping. Why is that necessarily wrong? That is just who this character is. If there was someone accomplished in "interrogation techniques" I would expect him to be military, police, mafia, or something like that. If there was an American special forces (or prison guard) on the plane I'd expect them to know a bit about it as well.

I think they were just trying to create as diverse a bunch of characters as possible.

Is it sterotyping that the only pregnant person on the island is a woman? OK, I'm being a bit silly there, but the point is that you have to build in some reason for the character to be or do something. Would it be any better if Jack or Boone came up with the torture idea and knew what to do?

Plus, Sayid said he had sworn he'd never do somehting like that again...He appears so far (we'll see about his backstory) that he has demonstrated some rejection of what he had previously done. We may find out that the assumptions we have, which are directly related to the stereotypes, are completely wrong. That's how this show sets things up. So the initial stereotyping may be necessary if you're going to get your perspective changed.

Just because it is stereotyping doesn't mean it is bad. Like you said, he is an ex republican guard, not a hairdresser. So it is realistic for him to know how to torture prisoners...they are trained to do this. And we don't know he was the only Iraqi on the plane.

Yes, and obviously this stereotypical character just stands out more now because of current events...

Although it looks like Sayid will be on the other side of the coin in this weeks episode..

And why do I get this feeling that the Sayid storyline this week will be a big letdown? I hope not but that lightbulb/electricty thing would be a huge turning point if this turns out to be real. If they now have electricity, they wouldn't exactly be roughing it anymore. I am guessing somehow the presence of electricity will elude them just like on Gilligan's Island when they would find a way to get off the island and poof, it would disappear (e.g boat, visitor etc.). As a kid, I always fell for it.

I get the impression that he's a prisoner and has no idea where he is being held. So somehow they have to write him a way out of captivity without him figuring out where he was held. Tricky, but I'm sure the LOST writers can manage it.

OR he shacks up with the gal. :-)

I think that the electricity will just be part of his "flash back" story and not actually on the island.

The commercials since last week have been saying "they find out they're not alone on the island," and we see Sayid get caught in a wild boar trap (like Locke was using) and in a room, with electricity, with a strange woman about to inject him with something. If the signal has been broadcasting for 16 years, there has to be some sort of energy source to do so anyway.

You can get electricity from a number of sources, if you have water flow, some wire and some magnets you can conceivably create electricity. Can't you get electricity from a potato, seems I tried that in high school many decades ago..?

You'd need a potato the size of Idaho to light that incandescent bulb.

Not really, that could be a very low voltage bulb, like the kind they would use on an airplane, maybe 12V..

A bunch of coconuts in series maybe..?

How many lightbulbs last 16 years? Most incandescent bulbs are rated at 1,000 hours.

Lower voltage can mean longer life, although 16 yrs would be pushing it a bit...

On the other hand, theoretically, if the bulb stays on and voltage stays constant and it's not turned on and off repeatedly and ambient temperature remains constant it could last forever...lot of "ifs" and "ands" but it is possible..

P.S. That 1000 hr rating takes into account being turned on and off many times during it's duty cycle which shortens the life of almost any electronic component..

Well, you know, originally light bulbs were made that could last forever... but they realized that there would be no consumer market for selling a light bulb and never having to replace it, so they built in a limited lifetime...

So it's not inconceivable to have a light bulb that lasts 16 years... There are probably some that have been on longer than that!

It's an island. All kinds of things wash up. Bulbs, batteries.. just about anything a plot line might need

... radioactive seeds...

Oh, Damn! You gave away the ending!

I mean, where did you think the monster came from anyways!?

It is conceivable but not probable that your basic incandescent bulb would be burning after 16 years. Maybe the clue is she has a stockpile of all sorts of staples....lightbulbs, toilet paper, batteries, condoms etc.

....a generator that runs on sea water...

Well of course they have "stuff"... it was that damn WalMart supply plane that crashed 16 years ago... maybe the woman is just a big yellow smiley face with a bow and arrow and feather in her cap, knocking down low prices?

The thread views on this thread have now surpassed the views of the Programming thread.

What happens when either thread goes over the 5 digit mark?

AFH posts "We made it to 10k views"

There are many threads in the Local reception forum which have well over 200,000 views. Many of those threads are over a year or two old.

Then why would the Korean lady be using aloe stalks? I guess it's just a cultural thing you would think such things would be plentiful, but we just never see anyone making use of them. I guess that falls under the category of assumption much like toilet paper.


Riiight along with the car that runs on water and the perpetual motion machine Sorry, but entropy takes its toll on everything [perceivable]

Actually, several years ago my wife and I had a tour of Edison's workshop in Menlo Park, NJ. They claimed that one of his original lightbulbs that they were burning has been doing so for many years. Of course, they also claimed that he had invented a way to record voices and music on vinyl.

The only time I saw her using aloe was when she was treating her husbands abrasions. Did she use it to brush her teeth too?

The Oldest known lit llightbulb .