# Lost 3.07: "Not in Portland" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191 "2007-02-07T07:05:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/121 "2007-02-08T21:35:33Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] • Sawyer calls Alex “Sheena” and “Lollipop.” [/QUOTE] Don’t forget “Underdog”. ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/122 "2007-02-08T21:48:22Z")
> [@](#): > > It wasn’t just Micheal and Walt. Not one glimpse or mention of Boone or Shannon. It’s like these characters never existed. What kind of BS is that? Well, they had to sum up about 50 hours worth of show into 1 hours worth of recap… obviously some stuff had to be cut out. That doesn’t mean Shannon/Boone/Walt/Michael weren’t important (in fact, I think we’ll see Michael and Walt again), it just meant there wasn’t time. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/123 "2007-02-08T21:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] It wasn’t just Micheal and Walt. Not one glimpse or mention of Boone or Shannon. It’s like these characters never existed. What kind of BS is that? [/QUOTE] Come now, the moment Shannon died the whole Boone, Shannon, and Boone/Shannon thing became completely moot. I thought everyone realized that one right away. Same thing with the Tailies, really. Ooh, it brought Bernard and Rose back together. Thrilling! Lots of disposables around. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/124 "2007-02-08T21:51:59Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] Well, my main question was answered…it’s Oregon, not Maine. [/QUOTE] Yes, and that’s really going to irritate me if they don’t explain it better. Portland is a solid hour from the coast, and there’s no way any island like the one depicted could exist anywhere in or near Portland. Why not just say Astoria or Oregon City? At least they’re on the Oregon coast. Of course there aren’t any huge islands that look like Hawaii off the Oregon Coast either… I’m waiting to hear the explanation of why there’s a shark with the Dharma logo on its tail swimming around. Numbers? Hurley using them to win the Lottery? TCM? Locke’s healed legs? Hatch? How everyone’s connected? Hallucinations? French Woman? Shipwreck? Meh. I want to know about the shark. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/125 "2007-02-08T22:03:33Z")
[QUOTE=Dooku] YMeh. I want to know about the shark. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Let’s hope the show doesn’t jump it before you find out about it! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/126 "2007-02-08T22:16:57Z")
I can’t remember what I wanted to comment on … so here’s another possibility for the anagram; Let’s Omit As in “let’s omit lots of stuff”. But I was still happy to see Lost back and I liked the episode. Also glad that someone finally demanded an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/127 "2007-02-08T22:18:31Z")
[QUOTE=wasson] Well, they had to sum up about 50 hours worth of show into 1 hours worth of recap… obviously some stuff had to be cut out. That doesn’t mean Shannon/Boone/Walt/Michael weren’t important (in fact, I think we’ll see Michael and Walt again), it just meant there wasn’t time. [/QUOTE] The way this island works, we’ll see Boone and Shannon again, too… ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/128 "2007-02-09T00:09:12Z")
[QUOTE=McDeath\_the\_Mad] Benry tells the infiltrator that the plane crash is 20-30 minutes away. That tells me they were on the same island as the Losties. [/quote] No way. I agree that it’s _likely_, but I think it’s probable that “The Hydra” is a system of tunnels and cameras (many heads / many eyes) linking the two islands. That meshes pretty well with what we know about Hydra being below sea level. So even if the islands are “two miles apart” (according to Henry) it would still only be a twenty minute run, especially if most of the run were a straight line through a well-paved tunnel. We ought to watch that scene again and see if we can determine where the plane went down relative to the village, since the village is shown clearly on one side of its island. > [@](#): > > Does anybody think that the “Others” might have always known about the island where they are now, but chose to live in suburbia because they didn’t need to be there? Now maybe that the “Losties” are around they had to abandon their houses and go to the Dharma Island to do experiments? I don’t think you’re putting enough of the pieces together… I think there’s something bigger going on. Desmond does something that gets him disgraced, then runs into Libby who loans him a sailboat which he takes around the world (stopping only to run laps on a stadium with a spinal surgeon) until he’s shipwrecked on an island, duped into running the Hatch by Sayyid’s former intelligence handler, and ends up causing the plane crash that happens to have his boat donor, Sayyid, and that same spinal surgeon on board who is just the man Henry needs to save his life? I think there’s very little here that the Others get to _choose_ – although if they can cause a bus accident, perhaps I’m underestimating them. Of course I’m of the opinion that the files they have on the Losties were acquired based on Ethan’s infiltration work and a clever research librarian, and not on prescience. Also, “[mittel](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mittel)” is German for “middle” but can mean “funding” (in the plural) or “agent, appliance, means” (in the singular). I think “Mittelos” is a made-up word, intended to describe the shell company for Dharma – it is the agent or the means of acquiring people for the island. They couldn’t call it “Mittel” because “Mattel” and “Mittal” are both already well-known companies. I do like the anagram “LOST TIME” too, though. > [@](#): > > The medicine Juliet tests on her sister is labeled “TEST SAMPLE A4993-E3” Do we know whether this is the same yellowish medicine that is injected into Claire’s belly in her nightmares? Is it the same medicine Desmond takes every day while he’s at The Pearl? I remember that Desmond’s bottle had The Numbers on it, but by that point the medicine would be in full production and wouldn’t be a test sample anymore… or would it? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/129 "2007-02-09T00:58:17Z")
[QUOTE=Jurph] Also, “[mittel](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mittel)” is German for “middle” but can mean “funding” (in the plural) or “agent, appliance, means” (in the singular). I think “Mittelos” is a made-up word, intended to describe the shell company for Dharma – it is the agent or the means of acquiring people for the island. They couldn’t call it “Mittel” because “Mattel” and “Mittal” are both already well-known companies. I do like the anagram “LOST TIME” too, though. [/QUOTE] This is from the Entertainment Weekly online article for this weeks episode (they called it “This is Spinal Trap” which I loved. I’ll [link](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20011171,00.html) to it but you might need a subscription to get it. > [@](#): > > In German, mittellos means ‘‘indigent,’’ ‘‘poor,’’ or literally ‘‘without means.’’ I don’t know if thats true. I was stationed in Germany for a couple of years but I only know how to order a beer in German. [QUOTE=yanceylebeef] I was surprised that there was not one mention of Walt or Micheal in the pre-show. I had thought they were going to be an overarching plot device, but it looks like another dead end. [/QUOTE] The EW interview with the produces had an answer of sorts. My link from the beginning of the thread doesn’t seem to go to it anymore. In case you are interested: They mentioned Walt and Michael and said we would see what happened to them. But probably not until next season. “Lost time”, thats how they will explain why Walt is 6-3. That last part is speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/130 "2007-02-09T04:16:03Z")
Wait, wait, what’s this “ **Lost Time** ” everyone’s talking about? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/131 "2007-02-09T06:02:15Z")
I assume that this “Jacob” talk is because on the Karl dis-orientation video it mentions “G-d loves you as he loves Jacob”? That’s a Biblical quote, I don’t think it refers to someone in-series. The bus thing was very well done. You expected it to happen, but it really did come unexpectedly, cutting off Edwin’s and Juliet’s conversation. Very well done. How stupid must Kate and Sawyer be to take Karl with them? Whatever conditioning he was undergoing in that video room may have taken root, with post-hypnotic suggestions to turn on the Losties or something. Have they forgotten Michael so quickly? OK, our guys have done plenty of dumb things, this one is up there. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/132 "2007-02-09T06:56:39Z")
[QUOTE=Dooku] Yes, and that’s really going to irritate me if they don’t explain it better. Portland is a solid hour from the coast, and there’s no way any island like the one depicted could exist anywhere in or near Portland. Why not just say Astoria or Oregon City? At least they’re on the Oregon coast. [/QUOTE] What are you referring to? They lied about being in Portland originally, but they never said “Oh it’s this Island, right off Portland” - at the end, they said that “we’re not really based in Portland” or something like that. Portland was just a cover story to get her interested, and indoctrinated, and then to get her willing to go to the island later. ---
**Author:** ![PerditaX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@PerditaX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerditaX)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/133 "2007-02-09T12:32:42Z")
[QUOTE=Birdmonster] When Jack asked Juliet what it was Ben said to her in the room that made her change her mind, I literally screamed “He’s in his first trimester.” Here’s to hoping. [/QUOTE] I would hope that Juliet’s smart enough not to give him an x-ray (remember, that’s how Jack found the tumor) if he’s pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/134 "2007-02-09T13:07:27Z")
[QUOTE=Jurph] No way. I agree that it’s _likely_, but I think it’s probable that “The Hydra” is a system of tunnels and cameras (many heads / many eyes) linking the two islands. […] We ought to watch that scene again and see if we can determine where the plane went down relative to the village, since the village is shown clearly on one side of its island. [/QUOTE] The Others have mentioned using a submarine to travel between the two islands. Alex has an outrigger sailing canoe which she gives to Sawyer, Kate, and Karl to escape the island. Alex says in "Not in Portland that there is no tunnel between Hydra island and the main island. Or at least she says “we have no tunnel” - so if there ever was one, they don;t have access to it. This doesn’t preclude the idea of there being tunnels running just under the main island, but even there, the blast door map would seem to indicate that if they existed they were blocked off at some point. I agree the village is on the other side of the main island from where the fuselage crashed. Since the plane was travelling southwest and from right to left that implies what side of the island they might be on. It appears the village is in a big crater ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/135 "2007-02-09T13:16:09Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] Wait, wait, what’s this “ **Lost Time** ” everyone’s talking about? [/QUOTE] \*\* chambraigne\*\* mentioned the producers saying there was an important anagram in this episode. One that would give a big clue. Speculation is that it might be from the company name Mittellos which can be turned into “lost time”. Pure speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_O](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Scott\_O](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_O)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/136 "2007-02-09T14:13:21Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] \*\* chambraigne\*\* mentioned the producers saying there was an important anagram in this episode. One that would give a big clue. Speculation is that it might be from the company name Mittellos which can be turned into “lost time”. Pure speculation. [/QUOTE] But are there any other possibilities? A new word or name that may have flown by. . . “Portland” seems a bit obvious, but I toyed with it for a while anyway. Bupkus. Okay, I guess “Mittellos” does seem the likely contender. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/137 "2007-02-09T15:43:16Z")
Well, Karl can be made into “lark,” too. Not sure if they’re going to start making confections out of his puke, but the word is there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/138 "2007-02-09T16:07:19Z")
Sorry for the drive-by but I have a meeting to go to. Just wanted to say that I’m wondering if the anagram we are looking for is in “NOT IN PORTLAND” rather than in MITTLEOS. I’ll have to run that later. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/139 "2007-02-09T16:20:08Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Well, Karl can be made into “lark,” too. Not sure if they’re going to start making confections out of his puke, but the word is there. 😉 [/QUOTE] As long as it’s lovingly garnished, they can keep him. 🙂 And anagrams for **Not In Portland** include: **Inland Porn Tot Torn Land Pinto Land Trip Not On Lard Inn Not Top** (Which is, of course, a review in the _Island Newsletter_ for Hurley’s new B&B.) **And Tilt No Porn Darn Lint On Pot** Truly, puzzles all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191/140 "2007-02-09T17:35:16Z")
[QUOTE=Draelin] As long as it’s lovingly garnished, they can keep him. 🙂 And anagrams for **Not In Portland** include: **Inland Porn Tot Torn Land Pinto Land Trip Not On Lard Inn Not Top** (Which is, of course, a review in the _Island Newsletter_ for Hurley’s new B&B.) **And Tilt No Porn Darn Lint On Pot** Truly, puzzles all. 😃 [/QUOTE] Well damn. I tried. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-07-not-in-portland/391191.md?page=8)