Despite the protestations of the show’s creator, I don’t see how “The Thing” can be “plausible.” It’s huge, predatory (or at least a very combative herbivore) and only moves around in the dark. It CAN’T be any modern animal with those characteristics…the only thing big enough to move trees around would be an elephant and they aren’t exactly known for being nocturnal.
The only other “plausible” possibility is some sort of heavy machinery, but if it were heavy machinery, how the hell could it grab the pilot? And if it were something as prosaic as, say, a forklift or a crane, why the hell would the pilot start screaming the minute he saw it as opposed to saying “Hey! You in the crane! Can you help us?”
So frankly I think the guy is blowing smoke with the whole “no aliens, no dinosaurs,” etc… thing. If it’s not a dinosaur or a giant robot, it has to be something supernatural.
I think you should also consider that the thing moving around knocking down trees and what grabbed the pilot may be two different things.
Then we’re STILL back to something that is 1)not human (the pilot screamed when he saw it, 2)is strong enough to pluck a grown man out of a window and carry him into the trees , 3)can either swing through the trees like an orangutan and 4) is murderous if not actually carniverous. And it’s STILL nothing “plausible.”
I was reading an issue of Maxim magazine today which had a preview of the new TV season. In a short article they annoyingly revealed several upcoming plot points including what the thing in the jungle is.
Did anyone else think that Jack might have a bit of an alcohol problem? The way he guzzled that shot on the plane set off a little “uh oh” in my mind.
Then again, he sure seems to be headed for the leading hero spot, so maybe not.
I really liked the show and am looking forward to Part 2. My only complaint was that I had a hard time understanding the soundtrack at times. I replayed the part with Kate when she got separated from Jack & Charlie, and still didn’t get what she was saying until I came here and saw that she was doing the five-count thingie.
Crap, I just hate being late to a thread.
Gonna watch it and tape it. Now I’ll have to go look at the tape again and try to analzye that weird noise out in the jungle.
When Terry O’Quinn had that orange in his mouth, it looked soooo bizarre. For some reason that struck me as absolutely creepy.
I’m enjoying Merry–oops, Dominic Monaghan!–as well.
I will confess to not having trudged through this whole thread…Did anybody wonder if the dog is
some kind of robotic spy? Or is that just too dorky?
I’ve always liked O’Quinn. Hopefully he’ll still be making his occasional appearances on The West Wing.
I was just surprised to read that O’Quinn is only 52 years old. Actors born the same year as him include Roberto Benigni, Jonathan Frakes, John Goodman, Mark Hamill, David Hasselhoff, Liam Neeson, Christopher Reeve, Patrick Swayze, and Robin Williams.
To follow up on the dog collar, I had two main reasons for associating a collar with the plane. You put a collar on a dog mostly to hold tags (contact info, rabies certification, etc.) and to put the dog on a leash. That makes no sense when you’re on a small island and the dog is clearly not on a leash. The second reason is that a collar in that much vegetation is a good way to strangle your dog.
Upon reflection, I am now getting a whole Prisoner tv show vibe. Isolated population of seeminly unrelated people (bet we find out that they are all connected somehow), kept under control by a frightening “Rover”-like thing that is rarely shown. Some people on the island will be working secretely to undermine any progress that the hero makes. Thus prolonging their stay. Who is Number 1?
I’m compelled to say Robot Pirate monkeys are available on a t-shirt.
Also, pilot Greg was a regular on Felicity before becoming a regular on Alias, making him a JJ Abrams hat trick.
Well? Share it in a spoiler box for us!
I did for a second, but connecting it to his “I took a couple of flying lessons…it wasn’t for me” led me to believe he hates to fly and he guzzled the shot for some quick courage.
What Rik said, you little tease. Spoiler box, me!
Sherman, set the WayBack Machine to …
1969!
Source: http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-74/The_New_People/
Thirty-five years later and the plot line returns. Will CBS resurrect Gunsmoke in an updated, high-tech version?
Yeah, I definitely felt like they were hiding something. Either they caused the plane to go down, or they have a briefcase with a million dollars cash stashed somewhere. 
I will definitely catch the 2nd half.
Is it common to have a handheld radio on a commercial flight?
I’m guessing not all that uncommon. Tho I’m guessing it is VHF (line of sight) and not going to do much good in the middle of nowhere.
Where is the ELT on the plane? I’m guessing the tail section - wonder if it landed on the island also. I’m also wondering the the life rafts have EPIRBs (emergency beacons that sattelites can pick up) Of course, number one may have a radio dampening device.
With 48+ survivors, quite few can die/ dissapear semi-regularly. The Doctor, Kate and Merry have the best life expectancy IMHO.
I’m pretty sure the plane crash was no accident.
Brian
The “unseen monster” plot device put me in mind of Forbidden Planet.
As requested, here is the review (with spoilers) from the September issue of Maxim:
Things aren’t going so well for the tropical-island-bound survivors of a plane crash. One’s about to give birth, one’s a junkie, one’s wildly fat, one’s an Iraqi (topical!), one’s an escaped felon, and one, er…lost his dog. Then there’s the inconvenient little glitch where the plane’s radar thing stopped working and flew off course, so no rescuer in the world knows where to find them. And…a similar party was stranded on the same island 16 years earlier and never got off. And the Professor is nailing Mary Ann! (Wait…wrong show!) Oh, and in a Survivor-esque twist, a giant polar bear monster dinosaur is eliminating them one by one. The weirdest part? It’s packed with familiar faces (like former Hobbit Dominic Monaghan) and hot girls, and it’s actually a great show.
For those of you not reading the spoiler and wonder whether the ‘thing’ is ‘plausible,’ the answer is: yes, it is plausible… if your understanding of science and reality is that of the average eighth grader.