With Netflix, Hulu, On Demand, TiVo, and a whole slew of other streaming services, it’s so easy to just binge a show over the course of a weekend. A six-pack of beers and two pizzas later, you can easily start and finish FRIENDS, New Girl, Portlandia, Mad Men, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, or a wide variety of movies and documentaries without leaving your house.
But, for us who grew up in ancient times, watching our favorite TV shows required a massive antenna, a hand-me-down TV, and a wing and a prayer that you’d get a signal up in the blustery Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And amongst studying for tests, writing papers, and reading novel after novel, my roommates and friends would make time once a week to tune in to ABC every Wednesday so we could theorize and analyze the show that united geeks, nerds, sci-fi lovers, lit-lovers, and number lovers the world over: LOST.
A show that twisted and turned its way through six magical seasons, LOST was so much more than a show for me. It brought friends together…it encouraged discussion. LOST even followed me after I graduated into my first job out of college, where a friend and I started a LOST Book Club and rewatched the series together. Did I spend half the time sitting on my couch with this expression on my face?
You bet I did. But you gotta admit, the writers on this show knocked it out of the park. The intricate interweaving storylines, the insane plot developments, the heartbreaking relationships…all of it and more made it so easy and fun to think about and talk about all the various LOST theories that fans were putting together.
I haven’t rewatched LOST in a long time…but it still has a very special place in my heart. Recently I had the urge to go back to The Island and revisit a few of my favorite scenes…and it was so wonderful to see some old friends again. I started reading old theories, even revisited some notes I took as I rewatched the series (yup, I took notes)…and all the emotions started coming back to me.
Now, as “You All Everybody!” is stuck in my head and the best of Sawyer and Kate plays in the background, I bring you 34 Fun Facts about LOST.
We Have to Go Back: 34 Fun Facts About LOST
As all fans will remember, the numbers on Hurley’s winning lottery ticket appeared several times throughout the series. According to producer Carlton Cuse, there was a time when it rained for 42 consecutive days on Oahu…sending shooting schedules into panic. The number 42 is, of course, one of Hurley’s magic numbers.
When it comes to exactly which characters were in the LOST series finale church scene and why, Cuse admits that “…there were a couple of people that we might have included in the church that just weren’t available when that scene was getting shot.” But the act of choosing and excluding certain characters for that scene was very strategic for the type of theorizing that us fans lived for!
The amazing two-hour pilot episode of LOST cost a whopping $13 million…and came in UNDER BUDGET.
The plane crash was made up of a real plane. A plane was flown to Oahu, dismantled, and rebuilt (to look like a crash) on the beach. It was so realistic that signs had to be posted assuring locals it was for a set.
The leftover parts of the plane were later used as percussion in the soundtrack of the show.
It’s no surprise that the writers liked to throw in references to famous theologians and scientists, but the character of John Locke is particularly interesting. Named after the actual John Locke, an influential figure in the Age of Enlightenment (a period where science and faith went up against each other), was also patronized by another man named Anthony Cooper, the namesake behind Locke’s troubled on-screen father.
No one character is in every one of the 121 episodes of LOST…but Jorge Garcia (Hurley) gets number one with 118.
Jack was actually supposed to be played by Michael Keaton…and, to add to the shock value of the show, was going to be killed off in the first episode. However, ABC didn’t like the idea of killing of the character that fans would be most interested in…so Jack lived and Keaton backed out.
Jon Hamm also auditioned for the role of Jack.
The biggest episode of all time was the season 2 opener, “Man of Science, Man of Faith”, with more than 23 million people tuning in to find out what was in the hatch. This show knew how to do a cliff-hanger.
The Hydra station where Sawyer and Kate are kept in cages was actually an abandoned theme park in Hawaii.
In this flashback scene involving Michael Emerson’s character, Ben, his mother is actually Emerson’s real-life wife, Carrie.
When Charlie meets a wealthy lady in a flashback, she tells him her father is buying a paper company in Slough – a reference to the UK version of The Office, which was a favorite show of LOST co-creator, J.J. Abrams.
Although Kate’s on-screen love life was a triangle between Jack and Sawyer, her off-screen time was spent with Dominic Monaghan (Charlie Pace). The two dated for five years and were even engaged for a period of time.
As the secrecy of the show grew, Jorge Garcia had a locked mailbox installed in this Hawaii home so that he could safely have scripts delivered there.
Much like his character, Terry O’Quinn (Locke) loved walking. He regularly walked about 12 miles a day to and from set.
A Hawaiian priest was brought in to bless the crew and set before season six began shooting.
In the season three finale, Jack visits a funeral parlor called Hoffs/Drawlar, an anagram for flash-forward. This is a sly hint that we’ve been watching the future, not the past, this whole time. MY BRAIN!!!
Sawyer and Claire are the only two characters who arrive on the island in the first episode and don’t leave until the finale.
For his role as Benjamin Linus, Michael Emerson was nominated for three Emmys (he won 1), three Saturn Awards (he won 1), and a Golden Globe.
All together, LOST has received 18 Emmy nominations (3 wins), seven Golden Globe nominations (1 win), and 38 Saturn Award nominations (10 wins).
Yunjin Kim initially read for the role of Kate. The writers liked her so much that the part of Sun was created especially for her.
Jorge Garcia’s role as Hurley was also a special creation. He originally auditioned for Sawyer, but got his own role instead (thank GOD because Josh Halloway and Jorge Garcia are two of my fave’s!).
Terry O’Quinn, who worked with J.J. Abrams on Alias, was the only principal cast member who didn’t have to audition.
Ian Somerhalder (Boone) was the first actor cast on the show and the first one killed off.
Of the famous set of LOST numbers – 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 – 23 is used most in the series.
Evangeline Lilly (Kate) took home the original “Dear Mr. Sawyer” letter as a keepsake during season 1, but it burned in the fire that destroyed her home in 2006.
In “Everybody Hates Hugo”, Hurley has a dream in which he chugs some milk from the hatch. On the carton, Walt’s picture can be seen under the word, “MISSING”.
Show creator Damon Lindelof was also a fan of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and invited star Rob McElhenney to play Aldo in season 3 of LOST.
DriveShaft’s song, “You All Everybody” plays in the background of an episode of season 4 of Alias.
The reason Walt had to be kidnapped at the end of season 1 was that actor Malcom David Kelley had grown tremendously in the span of the first two seasons. He was only able to return during flash-forward scenes later on, since he’d aged appropriately by then.
“The Constant” is Cuse and Lindelof’s favorite episode.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was reportedly offered a hefty sum to come back for the series finale…however he requested about 5x the amount…thus Mr. Eko was never seen again…
After filming ended, Lindelof took the cover of the hatch and turned it into a coffee table.
Sometimes you just need a little fun in your life! Check back every week for a new “Just Bee-cause” post, where I discuss everything from celebrity news to favorite videos and websites!
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