They will be airing the finale two days earlier than most would expect. It will be on a Sunday May 23, 2010

Could this be a hint by the creators that Jack (candidate #23 ) will be jacobs replacement? Or am I missing something else?

Why would they air it on a Sunday rather than Tuesday when everyone would be expecting it.

They will be airing the finale two days earlier than most would expect. It will be on a Sunday May 23, 2010

Could this be a hint by the creators that Jack (candidate #23 ) will be jacobs replacement? Or am I missing something else?

Why would they air it on a Sunday rather than Tuesday when everyone would be expecting it.
If you believe that TPTB do everything for a reason, then you might conclude that there is a particular significance to the 23rd. Just as one might find it more than coincidental that Jack's number is #23, his seat number was #23, and Psalm 23 is otherwise known as the Shephard's Psalm. Coincidence or fate......that is the question.

I think it would be poetic if the last episode featured Jack concluding the story, but I think it is a mere coincidence that the date is 5/23. ABC just wanted to make this a huge event, and Sunday is a better day for that.

I think it would be poetic if the last episode featured Jack concluding the story, but I think it is a mere coincidence that the date is 5/23. ABC just wanted to make this a huge event, and Sunday is a better day for that.

Yeah, I believe Sunday night is considered by most TV networks as the biggest viewing night for the average American... it would be cool if they had that kinda control and it's possible they suggested it to ABC because of the number 23 but I think ABC decides the final schedule...

They also wrapped filming of season 6 on the same date as they wrapped season 1. They're completing the circle.

Any significance to May 23rd? Of course there is. It's the day I graduated High School and also the day I was married. Coincidence? I think not. :D

J/k of course. But i agree that they're doing it Sunday to get the best audience possible.

Its 7 days before my birthday... and 7 is a holy number so.... YOU do the math.

They wanted the last major episodes to be in May because of May sweeps, apparently May is a big month for Networks. Sunday is the best night to get as many viewers as possible so that is why they have the finale on a Sunday.

I would be willing to bet that the finale air date on the 23rd is somewhat on purpose though.

May is a sweeps month. The Survivor finale is also on that Sunday. The 23rd is one of our beloved numbers and they can go neck and neck with CBS's biggest show that night.

May is a sweeps month. The Survivor finale is also on that Sunday. The 23rd is one of our beloved numbers and they can go neck and neck with CBS's biggest show that night.
They don't want to go neck and neck with Survivor. Amazing Race Finale is next Sunday; Survivor Finale is 3 hours on the 16th; LOST finishes the following Sunday.

LOST ran a rerun last week to place their finish the week after Survivor and the last Sunday in the sweeps.

yeah, I just figured that out myself. that survivor will be the 16th. I wasn't counting the double elimination they had this week. So my best guess is just that they could use the numbers one last time.

White Sunday or Pentecost

If you believe that TPTB do everything for a reason, then you might conclude that there is a particular significance to the 23rd. Just as one might find it more than coincidental that Jack's number is #23, his seat number was #23, and Psalm 23 is otherwise known as the Shephard's Psalm. Coincidence or fate......that is the question.Nice, this seems to be a mythological reason.

They also wrapped filming of season 6 on the same date as they wrapped season 1. They're completing the circle.This seems to be a sentimental move, probably done on purpose by the crew. I like it if I'm right.

May is a sweeps month. The Survivor finale is also on that Sunday. The 23rd is one of our beloved numbers and they can go neck and neck with CBS's biggest show that night.This seems to be a business decision by ABC, to challenge Survivor, which could backfire with the weaker minds in the crowd, no one here, but your fairweather fans who have no real connection to the show. As you've most likely read above this will not be the case, however maybe ABC is hoping to gather up the survivor fans who will be channel surfing that night not knowing what to do.

I think the signficance is simply that it is one of the more, perhaps, important numbers.

They said opening on Groundhog Day was on purpose. They didn't go straight through, they inserted a week for a repeat episode. Then they moved the finale from its normal day and time to a Sunday, which it has never been on.

I have searched and searched for a relevance to the 23rd of May but haven't found anything other than what was mentioned earlier about the references to the number 23. They opened on September 22, 2004, the day the plane crashed. It would have been cool if the show also literally ended on the same day it ended.

Since noone bit on the Pentecost tomorrow and I did some more reading I'll add a little more info. Its 50 days (pentecost) and the eighth Sunday after Easter. Since everyone in the FS seems to be meeting at the concert I found this below passage interesting.

"On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind. It filled the house where they were meeting."

Here an interesting little read from a Christian blog on the date and Lost.

http://chadholtz.net/?p=1289

The problem with all this theorizing that the date was chosen intentionally is that if the 23rd had fallen on Saturday, they wouldn't have aired it them. Sunday of May sweeps is a ratings juggernaut, and Survivor took last Sunday. They didn't want to go up against three hours of Survivor! Thus they aired a re-run of Ab Aeterno.

It's a nice coincidence that it's finishing up on the 23rd, but I guarantee you the network would NEVER have let them air it on Saturday the 23rd. Never. Let's be realistic here and comprehend that Finale slots are big business, sweeps time slots on certain days are big business, and LOST was granted the last big Sunday of sweeps by the network, on a date calculated to maximize ratings. The End.

from the Illuminatus! wikipedia page:

Numerology

Numerology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerology) is given great credence by many of the characters, with the Law of Fives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism#Law_of_Fives) in particular being frequently mentioned. Hagbard Celine states the Law of Fives in Appendix Gimmel: "All phenomena are directly or indirectly related to the number five." Another character, Simon Moon, identifies what he calls the "23 synchronicity principle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23_%28numerology%29)", which he credits William S. Burroughs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs) as having discovered.[15] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus%21_Trilogy#cite_note-burroughs-14) Both laws involve finding significance in the appearance of the number, and in its "presen[ce] esoterically (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esoteric) because of its conspicuous exoteric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoteric) absence."[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus%21_Trilogy#cite_note-esoteric-15) One of the reasons Moon finds 23 significant is because "All the great anarchists died on the 23rd day of some month or other." He also identifies a "23/17 phenomenon." They are both tied to the Law of Fives, he explains, because 2 + 3 = 5, and 1 + 7 = 8 = 2³.[17] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus%21_Trilogy#cite_note-squared-16) Robert Anton Wilson claimed in a 1988 interview that "23 is a part of the cosmic code. It's connected with so many synchronicities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity) and weird coincidences that it must mean something, I just haven't figured out yet what it means!".[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus%21_Trilogy#cite_note-radio-17)




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23_%28numerology%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism#Law_of_Fives

Since noone bit on the Pentecost tomorrow and I did some more reading I'll add a little more info. Its 50 days (pentecost) and the eighth Sunday after Easter. Since everyone in the FS seems to be meeting at the concert I found this below passage interesting.

"On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind. It filled the house where they were meeting."

Here an interesting little read from a Christian blog on the date and Lost.

http://chadholtz.net/?p=1289

VERY, VERY COOL!

I, for one agree that this is a significant reason for the date of the finale. If they had said that they didn't start the series on Groundhog Day for a reason, I would think this theory rubbish.

Groundhog Day combined with this passage makes sense.

I also worked in the ad business for 15 years and agree with the importance of May sweeps...the beauty is that possibly "coincidence" ends up playing a part in the date as well....OR IS IT...

FATE?

I always thought that since they initially aired the pilot on the same day that the plane crashed, they'd try to end it the same way. So that the show would end, for instance, on May 23, 2010 in the Lostiverse as well. Doesn't seem to be the case here though after all.

It was said that King Arthur on the Pentecost would gather all his knights for a festival and a quest.

Not so much related to May 23 perhaps but Arthurs last battle with Sir Mordred left him mortally wounded and so he was taken to an otherworldy island to heal named Avalon. See the bar next to Apollo.

http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1557-1195.html

Whitsun (White Sunday - May 23) is named for the whites robes people wore wanting to get baptized. Jack standing in the water washing his face and looks to be saying a prayer before Sawyer shows up at the beginning of the episode sort of made me think of this.

I guess you could say they were baptized in the light of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Pentecost is really about the birth of the Church thru the Holy Spirit (not that I think there is literal interpretation to be had just ideas).

So am I playing the square peg/ round hole game or mistaking coincidence for fate. I wouldn't be watchin this show if those questions were always so easy to answer.