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Lost: The Complete Fifth Season  Released on DVDLost: The Complete Fifth Season on DVD is set to be released on December 8, 2009, but you can pre-order your copy today on Amazon.com! The 5-disc DVD box set is packed with special features, including: 7 Lost on location, A Day with Josh Holloway, Los Angeles crew tribute with Michael Emerson, the 100th episode, Time Frame and Continuity, Bloopers, and Deleted Scenes. The set is available for you to pre-order at Amazon.com. Also available for pre-order is Lost: The Complete Fifth Season on Blu-ray .Partner Sites
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Fictional Frontiers with Sohaib (Episode 36 - February 15, 2009)
 [INTRO] ….what Rod Serling would call a, uh, probably to the best sci-fi fantasy, philosophical series since The Twilight Zone himself if he were, if he were alive today, and Scott Gotschall is back. He visited us last month when we did an overview of where we are right now and I know many of our fans is of the series, even those newbies who [chuckles] somehow probably caught up watching all the DVDs, are ready to dive right into the first couple episodes of the season. I, I've had a tremendous blast with what we've seen so far. There've been certain questions asked and quite a few uh, answers given as well and I just wanna say, Scott welcome back. SCOTT: Hi thanks for having me back. Good to be here. SOHAIB: To begin, right off the bat, and I don't like to do this across the board but just for, just for this show and because LOST is such a critical smash. I'm gonna hearken back to when we were in high school or college or when there was a grading system in effect. So far this season, if I had to ask you how you would rate the series on a A to F scale, what would you say so far, for this season? SCOTT: I think its got to be at least an A, if not an A plus. We're starting to get some answers. Uh, we're starting to get some of the mysteries resolved. It's, it's really fantastic that this is the first season where we haven't met a bunch of new characters that we have to get used to. We have our old characters. We have the old stand bys. We have Locke. We have Jack. We have Ben and uh, they have a purpose and they're looking for answers. So, it's, it's definitely an ... SOHAIB: So it's definitely an A. SCOTT: It's definitely an A. SOHAIB: Okay and I, and I concur. I have enjoyed this season so far tremendously and we'll get into last night's episode or will actually be this week's episode since we're going to be airing this weekend. But, for me it was, it was, I, I really can't put my finger on it completely, why but I thought it was, was the best episode so far this season. But as we mentioned and talked about it over, over the airwaves and off the air, this season has been uh, you know, dealing with time travel. Well that seems to be the running theme and I know that, what I really find wonderful is the fact that, for so long I think, that J.J. Abrahms and Damon Lindelof had to cater to satisfying just general, you know, TV watchers and you know, people who were just trying to, trying to find out about the legacy or the, the story of LOST. And now it, this is, this is sort of the payoff, I guess. This season and the next season are gonna be the payoffs for those people who, who have stuck it through and you know if you're not aboard by now, I, I'm sorry [laughs] so to speak and to me I, I find that very, very refreshing because I think it rewards those people who are willing to put forth the time and energy to try to delve into the mysteries of this season and the series. Would you echo those sentiments? SCOTT: I absolutely would and I had to laugh during your intro there because you mentioned the sci-fi. You mentioned philosophy but it's also religion. It's also romantic. It's also mystery. It's also funny at times. So, every, every type of viewer gets a type of show they like to enjoy so and each season has focused, um, on a different type of genre. The first season was more uh, thriller with the Smoke monster and, and uh the second season and third were slightly more romantic with a love triangle between Jack and Kate and Sawyer. Now we're getting into more sci-fi and mystery. And, uh I am looking forward to, to resolving some of the philosophical and mythological questions on the show as well. SOHAIB: It's interesting. I uh, I had the opportunity to speak to um, uh Chris Ryall, who is the editor-in-chief of IDW publishing, and I asked him about this season, and he told me that he was a little concerned that it was very plot centric and last night's episode I found to really be one of those that hearken back to sort of the heart of the original season. Um, you know with the death of Charlotte and again I, [chuckles] I want to preface this by saying we're going to go into Spoilers so if you, if you've not caught up or you've Tivo'd or DVR'd [laughs], one of our, one of our um show hosts is, is in the studio and he's a huge LOST fan himself and he was sort of shedding a few tears because he has not uh watched this week's episode yet. [laughs} I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [laughs] Aaron yer gonna hafta, yer gonna hafta leave the room right now because we're gonna get into spoilers. But, you know, with Charlotte's death and with Locke sacrificing his, willing to take that next leap to, to, that would ultimately lead to his demise, I thought were so, so emotionally uh, powerful scenes, as well as, aw well as the storyline behind Danielle Rousseau and Jin that I, I don't see how one could argue that it's, it's just a plot centric show at this point. I think if it were up to this point, I think last night's episode was, or this week's episode I should say, got us back to where it's really about the characters and that's what we all love about this series. SCOTT: Right and last night, especially, I was thinking this morning, how far Jin has come. Not only with his speaking English, but, remember, in the first season, he was so possessive over Sun and didn't want her doing anything without him, and made her button up her sweater, uh, to make it less revealing. And last night we saw him basically sacrifice himself, and sacrifice being with her, so that she could survive and live a happy life in Los Angeles. Um, so all those things, uh, Sun and Jin, and all those characters and Charlotte's death hit me, hit me pretty hard so I was kinda surprised they got rid of her so early. SOHAIB: Uh huh. Uh huh. SCOTT: But I do think the character will be back as, as Daniel um, progresses through time even if the actress won't be. SOHAIB: Let's talk a little bit about Daniel because um, as all of our fans, as all of our fans of the series know, Daniel was, uh was in the intro to the season premiere and he evidently, [chuckle] has been time jumping himself. What do we know about or what are the grumblings about Daniel, uh with respect to his being able to jump back and forth through time. Is, is that scene or was that scene, from the first episode of the season premiere, was that simply the Losties or the people who have been left on the island, was that just uh just a flashback to that, uh, that him having arrived during the time that they were, were trying to find the, the, the uh, I guess you could say, the, the uh, the secret behind everything related to the island? Or was this indicative of him actually traveling through time in some other way, form or fashion? SCOTT: I would imagine that it's indicative of him traveling through time. And I think when Locke turned the Donkey Wheel, on Wednesday night, that um the island will stop time traveling and will start to progress in a more linear fashion. And I have a feeling, and I don't know this for sure, that the Lost, the Losties that have been time traveling, will be more, will be more in the age of the Dharma Initiative, when they're building those stations and starting to do their experiments. And, I think they may get trapped in that area when the island stops time traveling. And so I think that Daniel, knowing where they are, knowing when they are, starts looking at things to do to save his friends. To save Charlotte um and make sure they survive through time and that the island survives as well. SOHAIB: One question I have, and I know a lot of our listeners have uh posed this question to me because they knew that this segment was coming up, was, they wanted to make sure that I would ask the experts, and you are the experts, and that's, is the island back through time or is it the Losties that are moving back through time? Because, it, it seems it's, it's the Losties, those who were left behind, who are actually moving through time and not the island. What are we hearing? SCOTT: It. It does seem to be kind of both. SOHAIB: Okay. SCOTT: We're not really sure. Um, you know the props, it seems like if they are in the canoe, it moves with them. If they're holding the rope, it moves with them. But I do think that the island is moving, not only in time but also geographically. If you remember the season premiere when drug plane from Africa landed on the island, I think that showed us that not only the island moves geographic.., um in time , but also geographically. SOHAIB: Hmm. Hmm. That's interesting. And do you feel that, as a side note, do you feel that the writers are going to lay out things in clearer terms for those people who are not as used to dealing with scientific tales or science fiction, I should say, because I, I think the lay person might get lost, pardon the pun. [chuckle] Do you think that they are going to lay out terms, lay out things in terms that just the general person who has followed the series but maybe not, who maybe is not, I don't want to say this sort of , like a Bernard character, so to speak, they, [laughs] the every person so to speak but do you think they will lay it out for them so they clearly understand what's going on when everything is said and done? SCOTT: I think they'll lay it out and give us what we need to know, even if there may be loopholes left open or questions left unanswered. I think they'll lay it out in a way that we discover what's happening and what the rules of time travel are and how everything came to happen at the same time that the Losties do. SOHAIB: Right. Right. SCOTT: I think that as they discover what is going on, and why it's going on, I, I think that as they discuss it and it is revealed to them it will be revealed to us as well. SOHAIB: Do you think that… Do you think that, on another side note, do you think that, you know we've seen Ben and we've seen Locke and it's seems that Ben is with the, with the Oceanic 6 to, who left the island. Do you think that he's with them really in spirit or is there some underlying motivation behind his actions? SCOTT: I think he really believes that what he is doing is saving the world. I think it's uh, I don't know if your listeners are fans of Heroes, but there was save the cheerleader, save the world slogan. SOHAIB: [chuckles] SCOTT: I think in his case it's save the island save the world and he has now been told the Oceanic 6, for whatever reason, have to return to the island, uh, or dire consequences will happen. SOHAIB: So it's not just a power struggle. You think for him, he truly is concerned about uh the outcome, not just for the characters themselves but for the world at large. SCOTT: It's a power struggle is definitely part of it. I think the order of things would be um for, the order of things in a, yeah, excuse me. The order of importance of the order of things for him would be the island and then himself, and last would be the characters. SOHAIB: And going back to the, the season premiere, it seems that Desmond and Daniel Faraday are, are, who are introduced to us later in the series are going to be playing very, very critical roles as the show progresses, particularly, Daniel Faraday. I, I love the actor. I think Jeremy Davies is, is a wonderful actor and he was, he's been good in so many other movies as well. And his scene, in this last episode, where he was grieving for Charlotte, I thought was rendered so well and I love the fact that the camera pulled away and. And you didn't see him shed any tears. They sort of gave him a private moment but he's such a fantastic actor. What do? What are we hearing about Daniel's role? What do we hear about uh, again, one of our favorites, Desmond, oh brutha? SCOTT: Well as far as Daniel is concerned, he seems to be the only one who has any clue what is going on. He seems to be the only one who has any answers. So, I think, as things are explained, he will play the major role in actually explaining things. I, ya know, whenever he has to explain something to Sawyer, um or Miles, he'll also be explaining it to us. SOHAIB: So you think that is sort of his role. SCOTT: I think that is sort of his role. Um, you know part from the major issues right now, is, is what are the rules of time travel. Can they change the past? SOHAIB: Hmm. SCOTT: Can they change the future? Um, when, when Daniel goes back, back and talks to Desmond, why doesn't Desmond recognize Daniel later on? Why doesn't he, why doesn’t he have the memory u right away? Why does he have the memory 3 years later of talking to Daniel? So, it's, it’s those kinds of rules and those theories and that type of pseudo-science that I think Daniel is there to explain. And then Desmond, I think, is the one that represents the fate and the specialness um, of the island, for whatever reason. Perhaps because of his special relationship with Penny and then Penny and her father, Charles, um but he is clearly sort of special… SOHAIB: Right. SCOTT:…on the island and off. SOHAIB: And that's what, and that's what Daniel alluded to that Desmond was special and I have to confess when I was watching the first 2 or 3 episodes of, of this season, I, I, I was concerned about that question. It's funny because even on your message boards, and other message boards, you see certain concerns of people, okay why did the writers do this? Why did, this doesn't make sense here or why are they doing it there and one of the questions they had, and you alluded to that, was why did Desmond not remember Dan, excuse me, remember Daniel Faraday later on, uh, when he supposedly met him prior to uh the Losties finding the hatch? That was actually addressed in the following episode, not the answer but the question itself. I think it's very comforting to know the writers have laid out things so nicely. That things, that may seem to be um, you know, flaws in the storyline or uh, or plot holes, are in reality just questions that will eventually be answered if you have the patience. SCOTT: I, I completely agree and it has to. Remember, as well, that it must be extremely difficult as a writer to write a time travel narrative because the narrative has to be linear. SOHAIB: Uh huh. SCOTT: We can't actually go back in time and say oh this happened first and this happened later. Um, so it is very difficult to write that linear narrative um when dealing with past, present and future tenses. SOHAIB: With the, with the respect to some of the answers that we've been getting, or glimpses of answers, the Smoke monster made a tremendously powerful appearance this week. And I was, I was blown away by the arm being ripped off and you don't really see that much gratuitous violence on LOST. And, this, the beginning of the show when uh, you mentioned Heroes, when uh [laughs] when the pilot was uh, was uh, who everyone knows as Parkman from Heroes, was uh, was ripped out of the cockpit in the first season. That was a relatively grisly affair but this was at a whole other level. Visual effects were, were outstanding. What do we know about the monster that, as, as it's been mentioned many times, it’s a security system but you know there are grumblings of it being Cerberus, so to speak, uh guarding the underworld as well. SCOTT: Well, the only way we know it is a security system is because that is what Danielle tells us. SOHAIB: Right. SCOTT: Now um Wednesday night it appeared that it was guarding the Temple, whatever that may be, and this has become a very big question is what is in that temple? What is it for? What the natives/Others used it for? Um so then, of course, where did Smokie come from? Is it a natural phenomenon? Is it a by-product of experiments? Is it some sort of weapon? Um its, its, the Cerberus allusion is very interesting because it, Cerberus was the 3 headed dog of the underworld and some people have theorized that there are more than one, than one Smoke monsters as I mentioned last month when I was here on your program. SOHAIB: Uh huh. SCOTT: And um what Eko saw and what Locke saw and what Kate and Juliet saw seem to be completely different things. Um so there may be, in fact, 3 monsters or there may be 1 that serves different purposes depending on who scans or who it attacks. Um so there's really a lot of answers left uh for the Smoke monster. And it was also interesting on Wednesday night that when Danielle's crew went down the hole… SOHAIB: Uh huh. SCOTT:… she believed somehow that affected them. SOHAIB: Right. SCOTT: That somehow they got sick because of that. SOHAIB: And they revealed that she ultimately was the cause of their demise for her own protection. And you mentioned the Temple and I, I can't help when I saw, when I saw the Temple I couldn't help but think about the 4 Toed Statue and whether or not there is some correlation there. Do you believe that is a possibility there is some type of correlation? I know you said that may have never be answered but now it seems that [chuckle] might actually be one of the central questions or uh one of the essential answers, actually to what's going on with the unique properties of the island. SCOTT: I really hope so because it's that type of mythological, historical question, that I find fascinating. Um every time they flash in my mind I go I hope they are in ancient times. I hope they are in ancient times. SOHAIB: [laughs] SCOTT: I hope they are building the 4 Toed Statue now. I hope they are building the Temple now. Um, so who really knows at this point? Juliet said Richard is very old when asked about his age. Um does that mean he was there for the 4 Toed Statue? Does that mean he was there? You know, how long has he been there? Is he really eternal? SOHAIB: Uh huh. SCOTT: Um so, I have a feeling those answers will come from him. SOHAIB: And what about Jack's father? He, he uh, or I don't want to say Jack's father, but the uh the visage of Jack's father made an appearance this week as well. Uh, in, in being the sort of spiritual guide, if you will, for Locke and again that was one of those powerful scenes in the season so far, was his conversation with Locke and the tear that Locke shed. I thought that, Terry O'Quinn is a genius and I, I [laughs] well he definitely, definitely deserves all the awards and accolades that he has been, uh, he, uh actually received over these years. But, talk a little about uh what we're hearing with respect to Jack's father. Is it really Jack's father or is it just the embodiment of the island in Jack's father's form? SCOTT: Well, Christian Shephard is certainly a character who's gotten a lot of air time considering he's been dead since the pilot episode. SOHAIB: [laughs] SCOTT: Um as far as Wednesday's night episode, as far as when Locke saw both him and Claire in the cabin, we really don't know. Um we think that Smoke monster can take different forms but we've never seen the Smoke monster underground. Um we think it's more than an, a hallucination because Locke never saw before the island and Michael never saw Christian before the island when Christian appears to him on the boat. So you know, it's one of those, it's one of those really interesting questions that we just don’t know yet. We think its Jacob. We think it's the Smoke monster. We think it could be the island. But nobody really knows for sure. SOHAIB: And then you also have Faraday's mother which was speculated for quite some time and now we found out that or discovered I should say, that she is the venerable Hawking, mysterious character we have heard so much about. What do you think is going to happen next week? She says she is going to reveal, it seems like it's a big revelation episode next week. She is going to show how the island was found. And what do we hear? Is there any rumor about what her role is and why she seems to have such an important, important part of this, she's such, I should say, important part of this board game that Widmore and Ben are playing? SCOTT: She seems to be explaining the rules. She seems to be sort of like the official on the football field. SOHAIB: Uh huh. [laughs] SCOTT: Uh, yeah, she explains the rules. She makes her people stay within those boundaries. Um but she really has no interest in which, which side wins. Um, that seems to be her role in, in this. So next week as, as Daniel plays a role, I think his mother will as well in explaining the rules of time travel. SOHAIB: Before we head out, I have 3 quick uh, I don't want to say quick because they may not be. Nothing in LOST is quick. Right? Thank goodness. SCOTT: Right. Everything is complicated. SOHAIB: [laughs] Everything's complicated and we love it for that. But, there are 3 questions I have before we head out. Number 1 and um with respect to uh Jughead um, [laughs] do you believe there is some relationship between Jughead and the hatch from the 1st season or actually from the 2nd season? And if so, what is that relationship? SCOTT: [silence] SOHAIB: Hello Scott? Hello Scott? Are you there? [pause, background inaudible Cell phone?] Maybe he will call back. Yeah. You can pause it. Hello Scott? Are you there? SCOTT: Yeah. SOHAIB: Okay, great. We are starting up again. And I am not going to edit this segment. Normally, I, even here at the station, say we should edit this and you know why I am not editing it right? Because I think the island's influence [chuckle] is actually manifesting itself here in the station. There was a flash and I lost Scott. SCOTT: That's right. SOHAIB: I think that actually is what happened and, and [laugh] we did pause. There is a little bit of a pause but you see the influence of the island goes deep and far. I think it's why Daniel Dae Kim was in New York at the Comic Con 2. Jin made an appearance at the New York Comic Con this past weekend as well so maybe some mysteries outside of what we are seeing on TV related to the island. But go on back. SCOTT: I think absolutely that's true. I think the electromagnetism from the island killed my cell phone battery. SOHAIB: [laughs] You see? I'm telling you that there's much more to this show than meets the eye. And that is not a Transformers plug either. But going back to what we were talking about with respect to Jughead. Is Jughead related to the hatch from the 2nd season? SCOTT: I think probably that it is. Um the only thing that suggests it might not be is that when Sayid was down there, he noted that there was a strong magnetism. If you remember the key around, I forget whose neck it was, Eko's maybe. It drew the key to the wall. Um and I'm not sure that type of bomb would have that type of magnetism related to it. Other than that it seems to suggest pretty strongly that, that's what's behind that wall in the Swan hatch. SOHAIB: Hmm. Hmm. And the other 2 questions I have, I'll get to the last one because I think it, um, we always talk about the wonderful things about LOST so I want to talk about some of the things that are, uh, you know we have to be critical here. So maybe some of the aspects we want to uh be a little bit more uh critical of. But, but the last question I have before we get to that is… You know we each have our favorite characters in the show. Um I love Locke. I love, you know I love Ben in a, as a nefarious, evil mustached twirling type, in a sense but that with an intelligence to match, but… In the, you know, it's, there's so many different characters and so many different important roles, in this show that we, my friends and I, we are, even people who are just, who are just passers by talk about LOST, we, we always have this running question of, who do you think the most important character in the show? Meaning that the show is sorta, is there a character A that the show revolves around is so central to that he's the key or she's the key to everything? And if so, who is that character in your mind? I think Locke is the most important character in this show and the central point of the entire show. And um and do you think he will be resurrected as well? [laughs] I'm throwing another question in there with that but who do you think is the most central character because if there is one and do you think Locke is coming back? SCOTT: I don't think Locke's character will be completely dead. I think, I think he'll either be resurrected or reincarnated. Um his death will be prevented. Um it will be a spider bite or something that keeps Locke around. I can't imagine they'd be getting rid of Locke. As far as who is the most important character is [pause] boy that is a great question. SOHAIB: And you can't leave until you give us an answer. [laughs] SCOTT: No, no. I won't. Um you know again I think back to when Locke and Walt were playing backgammon on the beach, and Locke picks up 2 of the pieces and says one side is light and the other's dark. That you really can't have good without evil. You can't have night without day, so, I think that you know, the man of science/man of faith type philosophies is, is important. And I think Desmond's is very important. If I had to choose one, um I'll go ahead and say Desmond. SOHAIB: Wow. Okay and one of my closest friends would, would agree with you wholeheartedly. And you know I am not even going to get into the criticisms of show and you know why? Because I really think they're so minute that they are not even worth addressing at this time. The show's been fantastic so far this year and it's getting better every week and Scott it's been a blast and again it's http://www.lost-tv.com And remember this website is the constant for you when it comes to anything and everything related to the series called LOST. Thanks Scott. SCOTT: Thanks guys. It's a great website and Master Xander does a great job and we also have http://www.losttv-forum.com where all these issues can be addressed, discussed, argued whatever your heart desires. SOHAIB: [laughs] I think argued is probably [laughs] is probably the order of the day because everyone has their opinions and we're not going to know until the very end. Scott we'll see you next month and thanks for taking the time to and hopefully the island won't wreak havoc any longer and you won't suffer any nosebleeds while we're waiting for the next segment. SCOTT: Thanks everybody. I appreciate it. SOHAIB: Thanks a lot. Take care. SCOTT: You too. SOHAIB: Hello Scott? SCOTT: Yeah. SOHAIB: 4-8-15-16-23-42. I'm trying to push the buttons and hoping that we can pull up that segment that Master Xander came up with for the intro to the show and he, I know I owe him one now but that was Scott Gotschall talking about my favorite show over the last couple of, oh I'd say the last 20 years, that's LOST. [END] |