Summer of Lost Update 08/25/2009
Tonight we continue our search for what we perceive as truth, reality, found, and Lost as The Twilight Zone and ABC's Lost intermingle as we explore my alternate theory and perhaps reality itself.
Some Background Before we Proceed:
The Twilight Zone was a classic science fiction television series created by Rod Serling that aired from 1959 to 1964. Each episode intertwined the supernatural with topical moral events in today’s society ending with a twist convoluting the outcome. The same can be said about ABC Lost. The castaways are more than just stranded on an island. There are mysterious forces at work of powers unknown. And just like the Twilight Zone, a twist is inserted in the story convoluting the outcome.
The Twilight Zone had a standard format. Each episode began with a prologue, usually with the host, Rod Serling doing the voice over introducing the characters and setting. At the end of the show, Serling would offer up a final narration of what the viewer just witnessed.
Tonight's Twilight Zone Lost offering is titled,
The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, season 1, episode 22, 1960
The Prologue:
Maple Street, USA. Late Summer. A tree-lined little world of front porch gliders, barbecues, the laughter of children, and the bell of an ice cream vendor. At the sound of the roar and a flash of light, it will be precisely 6:43 PM on Maple Street.
This is Maple Street on a late Saturday afternoon. Maple Street, in the last calm and reflective moments...before the monsters came.
Synopsis:
The episode begins as a typical Summer day. Kids playing, grown ups gathering. Then a dark shadow crawls across the sky and a flash of light and a loud noise is heard before everything goes dark. A complete power outage has occurred including the residents cars. The adults get together to discuss what happened and what they plan on doing about it. Pete Van Horn volunteers to investigate to see if the power outage is city wide or just the neighborhood.
Just after Pete leaves a young boy claims he knows what is happening. He shows the adults one of his comic books with a story about aliens coming down, assuming human appearance, and living in the neighborhood for a while – while they plan their attack.
At first the adults don’t believe the story until one of the neighbor’s lights go on in his house. Then someone else’s car starts for no reason. As things are going on and off randomly the people start to accuse each other of being the aliens. The fear and hostility of the neighborhood grows. When Pete Van Horn comes back one of the neighbors shoots him because he thought he was an alien.
As a full-scale riot breaks out, the camera pans outward and upward revealing two aliens sitting atop a hill overlooking Maple Street. They comment on how all they need to do is switch on and off a few lights and the people of Earth will destroy themselves.
Epilogue:
The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices. To be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and the frightened, thoughtless search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own: for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things can not be confined to the Twilight Zone.
Lost Tie In:
Jacob and the Unknown man seen at the beginning of the season five finale, are the two aliens. They are the ones manipulating mankind, one group of people at a time. They leave the Lost castaways to their own devices with minimum prodding on their part. Then they simply sit back and observe and learn what humanity really is.
Unknown Man: You’re still trying to prove me wrong.
Jacob: You are wrong!
Unknown Man: They come, fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.
Jacob: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that, it’s just progress.
The question before us is simple. Who are the real monsters? The aliens that are manipulating the power on Maple Street? Or perhaps the citizens of Maple street and how fear and prejudice blind us so quickly and completely that we behave like monsters?
I'll leave that up to you, in the Twilight Zone.
LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL
*Also, note that comic books are mentioned. Walt's comics that seem to depict strange occurrences that become reality and also the little boys comic when he shows the grown ups his comic about aliens disguised as humans living among them take over the world.
ReplyDeleteOK, very similar story line, even the comic books. The problem I have is that Lost is a series whereas Twilight Zone was a weekly stand alone show. With Lost, each episode is connected moving toward an end. Very similar though, i give you that much.
ReplyDeleteVery true, but say, what if Lost's series finale is based on say, The Old Man In The Cave, a Twilight Zone episode.
ReplyDeleteCheck the link here Old Man In The Cave and tell me that the season five finale wasn't all about this episode.
This is great stuff, LOTGK. I def. see the connection bet. The Old Man... and the finale, very interesting, makes me want to figure out other connections. Wish more stuff on TV was this gripping now, or then, the way TZ was (not that I'm old enough to have been seeing it in the original, but you know)
ReplyDeleteBTW, I miss your blog and your story line.
DeleteThe Twilight Zone could very well be the backbone to the writers vision of what has become Lost. Mystery, suspense, twists, supernatural, and logical explanations. A good theory indeed.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the ending? Twilight Zone ended each week and went on to another arc. Lost is all tangled together. They just can't end it with a man in a gray suit walking on camera smoking saying, and that my friends, is how we do business in the Twilight Zone.
ReplyDeleteI just got a Lost season Six spoiler. In a flashback scene, Jack and Kate actually first met in New York, at a Yummy Taco restaurant. Kate ordered the number 3.... Jack whispers a secret to kate...
ReplyDeleteAnd Rod Serling is the cook with his face in his hands leaning on the counter.
Lost would certainly be in excellent company if it were based on the Twilight Zone.
ReplyDeleteI think that would be an excellent ending. :D
ReplyDeleteNow thats a stretch, even for you Pat.
ReplyDeleteYou got game oh grassy one, you got game. You keep posting and posting and each one adds a piece to the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Actually, I was playing a little with a new poster, Life With Heller and how she said a blind first date took her to Yummy Taco for dinner.
ReplyDeleteVal my friend, the Lost Twilight Zone updates almost write themselves. I seriously believe the writers have been influenced by the Zone.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, im still not convinced on the aliens. Its gotta be the island. For Lost to have come this far and still be a ripper show and it turns out it was aliens all along, that would just be a slap in the face. I reckon aliens is the easy way out and the creators/writers/producers are smatter than that. Ive been following LOTGK Lost updates for a very long time and i think you have something to do with the show. The producers are always doing crafty things like this so im calling it. But if not, A+ for effort man you've done a crackin job.
ReplyDeleteTrust me, I do not have anything to do with the show. (Of course, that is the reply one would expect. :D) But seriously, I am just a fan of Lost, formulated my theory during the pilot episode, and have stuck with it ever since.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for the nice words.
Hahaha dang it. oh well, worth a shot. I was thinking amongst all the other bizzare things on Lost i.e the smoke monster, crazy electro-magnetism and apparent island time travelling. would it be so far fetched that there might be a fountain of youth thats keeping Jacob, Richard and Mysterious stranger alive all this time explainig the little conversation at the start of the last ep season 5. Im being really lazy here, but is Radzinski the guy who blew his brains out before "Brother" (Desmond) got there. "you see that stain right there? Thats Radzinski". Cheers.
ReplyDeleteYou are not the first person to ask if I were part of ABC Lost with the same type of logic, with the fake websites and blogs they have published over the years. But no, I am no associated in any way with ABC or Lost.
ReplyDeleteLOST UPDATE LOST UPDATE LOST UPDATE LOST UPDATE LOST UPDATE!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have startling news that the Grassy Knoll Institute needs to investigate. Julliet and Charlie have not left the show!!!!!!! Charlie is on the new ABC series Flash Forward. In the beginning on the first episode their is a billboard on the side of the building that says “OCEANIC AIRLINES” and underneath it says “Perfect Flight Safety Record” The New show that Julliet is on called V also has references to Lost. ABC is going to intertwine all three shows. Flash Forward is about seeing the future and V is about Aliens. Isn’t Funny how Julliet goes to another show on the same network involving aliens and she has made reference to aliens on lost and Charlie goes to another show on the same network dealing with seeing the future?