# what would be "too much" for Lost? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245 "2009-08-13T02:14:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/21 "2009-08-14T01:24:48Z")
Making the slightest bit of fucking sense. That would be _really_ out there. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/22 "2009-08-14T03:08:35Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > It was also a short story. Which Locke was reading at one point. > > But the head guys have repeatedly stated that there will not be any sort of “it was all a dream” type ending. Not to sound snark, but didn’t they also say there’d be no time travel? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/23 "2009-08-14T03:11:25Z")
Didn’t they say there would not be anything ‘supernatural’ - no aliens, that kind of thing - isn’t there some kind of basis in reality, for all the strange events? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/24 "2009-08-14T04:21:31Z")
The Player Vs Player web comic has the answer to the OP: [http://www.pvponline.com/2009/05/14/and-the-rest/](http://www.pvponline.com/2009/05/14/and-the-rest/) Gilligan and the Skipper are the gods. “This finally makes sense to me”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/25 "2009-08-14T04:23:05Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > Not to sound snark, but didn’t they also say there’d be no time travel? I think they were saying that the plane crash was not them time-traveling. But honestly, regardless of what they’ve said, Lindelof and Cuse are great writers, and they both know that any sort of “it didn’t really happen” ending would be the biggest cop-out ending in the history of TV (if not fiction). Plus, I doubt they would stay alive much longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/26 "2009-08-14T04:46:51Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > The only thing that could be “too much”, although it may also be the only thing that could tie everything up, is for one of the characters to realize just before he hits the beach after the plane crashed that he imagined the whole thing, sort of like Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurance At Owl Creek Bridge.” I will send a dead rat to someone on the production staff if this is their “explanation”. That would be artistic suicide/manipulation on a scale I’ve not personally yet encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/27 "2009-08-14T05:49:00Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > (my bolding) > Maybe no 100% Deus, but it allowed for the fat guy to remain fat without further complications. Which makes it not even 50% Deus. I’d maybe put it’s Deus level at around 3%, maximum. Deus Ex Machina: it’s not Latin for “Oooh, that’s a bit convenient.” 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/28 "2009-08-14T06:26:24Z")
Ted McGinley shows up. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/29 "2009-08-14T06:45:13Z")
GigoBuster: The comic strip Monty [did that joke first.](http://comics.com/monty/?DateAfter=2006-02-27&DateBefore=2006-03-18&Order=s.DateStrip+ASC&PerPage=50&Search=&x=43&y=17) ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/30 "2009-08-14T07:24:20Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Didn’t they say there would not be anything ‘supernatural’ - no aliens, that kind of thing - isn’t there some kind of basis in reality, for all the strange events? The smoke monster appeared in the pilot. If they did say that, it went out the window pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/31 "2009-08-14T07:38:40Z")
It’s not about how much is too much; it’s a science fiction / fantasy drama. So, as with any decently told story within that genre, it’s about sticking to whatever rules you’ve laid down from the start and keeping it all cogent within that framework. Out of context, there’s some asinine stuff in there already, but if it all comes together in a well told, tightly woven, complex and interesting story by the end of it, and they don’t break their own rules, cheat, or back peddle\* – well, shit… that’s quality entertainment. The story isn’t done yet, so no one can say what the verdict is, but for now, I feel they’ve done a decent job of sticking to the rules they’ve established from the first season. I think it’s fair to say, we’re all dying to find out how it’s going to wrap up. \*And no true Deus Ex Machinas as of yet, that I can think of. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/32 "2009-08-14T07:48:35Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > \*And no true Deus Ex Machinas as of yet, that I can think of. What about all of those random jungle encounters, which seems to happen at least once an episode? Surely some of those must qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/33 "2009-08-14T11:30:41Z")
> [@mshar253](#): > > The smoke monster appeared in the pilot. If they did say that, it went out the window pretty fast. Yeah, but we didn’t actually see it until the last episode of Season 1. Up until then, they could have given a perfectly mundane reason for all those trees being uprooted. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/34 "2009-08-14T12:00:37Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I bet Lindy and Cuse could pull it off. If you have told me in the middle of the first season that they were gonna time travel back to the 70’s, I would’ve turned it off right then and there. But they made it work. Maybe for you. That’s where they lost me… [QUOTE=Colophon] Making the slightest bit of fucking sense. That would be really out there. [/QUOTE] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/35 "2009-08-14T12:22:54Z")
“They’re on the island, they’re off the island! Who can follow that shit!?” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/36 "2009-08-14T13:41:25Z")
Things that would be “too much”? Kate not being such an amoral bitch… Jack not being such a doofus… Locke saying “Hey, I was happier at the box factory. When can I go home?”… Hurley and Rose being discovered in a Love Connection… Sawyer being at a lost for insults… Girl-on-girl action with Shannon, Claire, Sun, and that chick who blew up the bomb at the end of last season… (a man can dream, can’t he?) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/37 "2009-08-14T14:12:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Yeah, but we didn’t actually see it until the last episode of Season 1. Up until then, they could have given a perfectly mundane reason for all those trees being uprooted. A perfectly mundane reason for an invisible force that uprooted trees and _roared_? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/38 "2009-08-14T15:19:06Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > A perfectly mundane reason for an invisible force that uprooted trees and _roared_? You havent had Taco Bell’s Lava Sauce Extra Bean Burritto yet have you? It works just as well no matter what end it comes out off. And, given the taste, the odds are about 50/50 either way. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/39 "2009-08-14T19:46:03Z")
> [@mshar253](#): > > The smoke monster appeared in the pilot. If they did say that, it went out the window pretty fast. > [@salinqmind](#): > > Didn’t they say there would not be anything ‘supernatural’ - no aliens, that kind of thing - isn’t there some kind of basis in reality, for all the strange events? I think their point was that this is a science fiction show and not a fantasy one. Aliens are not supernatural. The smoke monster hasn’t been explained yet. It could be some kind of cloud of nano computers or something. Supernatural implies things of a spiritual nature like ghosts, god, angels. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245/40 "2009-08-14T20:17:29Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I think their point was that this is a science fiction show and not a fantasy one. Yeah, but if the science is sufficiently advanced, what difference does it make? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-too-much-for-lost/506245.md?page=3)