I've been lurking around the site for a while now and haven't seen anyone bring up the 1960's TV show "The Prisoner" which has a lot of similarities with Lost.
On the surface, the two shows are similar in that they both involve main characters who are stranded in an unescapable island that is governed by an unknown entity.
The Prisoner had its own version of the "Monster" that was referred to as "Rover" and would come in and get you if you got out of line. The similarities between Rover and the Lost Monster are too close for coincidence.
There are many other similarities as well. The Prisoner was an allegorical blending of Sci-Fi and the Secret Agent/Spy genre of the 60s. Like Lost, The Prisoner always answered a question with 10 more quesitons. Check out Wikipedia's entry:
"A major theme of The Prisoner is the conflict between individual needs versus those of society, and the compromise which each make to co-exist. While The Village tries to assimilate Number 6, Number 6 strives for independence—usually through escape. Sometimes Number 6 succeeds, sometimes he fails, and sometimes he fails by resisting, in that in resisting on their terms he has succumbed to the greater trap, that is, playing the game The Village has put before him."
THe Prisoner was a great show. Ahead of its time. I also recall in one of the podcasts, that Damon Lindelof said they drew from a lot of their favorite TV shows as influences for Lost. He specifically mentioned the Twilight Zone. Which also popular in the 60s.
Curious if anyone else has considered the similarities between the two shows.
There have been a few discussions and threads discussing the similarities with the Prisoner. Try a search. I know one poster had made a list of parrallels between the two.
Yeah, there was a small thread on this subject back at the very beginning of season 2. A few months ago I got out the first volume of The Prisoner from my library. Only ever got the time to watch the first episode, yet I was immediately able to see the similarities. And I'm sure there were more if I had gone deeper into the show.
A.C.T.S. #29
F.O.X. #130
N.U.M.B.E.R. 1
Jud-Ra Danas: Jedi Knight of the Lost Republic, and Master to Prima Canew
Rather than adding to the older threads that've been pointed out, might as well reply here.
I'm usually quick to point out or recognize when others do, probable inspiration material for Lost. However, the resemblances to The Prisoner I find to be fairly weak & superficial, sorry. Still, I'll toss in this one that I either heard or read:
"Who is no. 1?"
"You are no. 6."
("You are, no. 6.")
"...they're not the survivors they thought they were." (promo for Lost season 2)
("...they're not the survivors. They thought they were.")
I just wanted Number 6 to be able to read some of the other discussions on this topic. Clearly the discussions never last very long. While there are parallels to The Prisoner. I also think that they are loose, I think of more as The Prisoner was at least part of the inspiration of the story of Lost.
The false script page circulating at the beginning of this season played to the Prisoner crowd with Jack facing a "doppelganger" out of the hatch. The hatch, and DI, certainly seem to have strong stylistic resemblances to The Prisoner -- remember the hallway of jukeboxes? -- but we haven't yet seen a thematic relationship, namely an exploration of the role of individuals in society.
With the forthcoming "war" drive and the escalating conflict between Jack and Locke, we may start getting a taste of that. But it's a little late in the game to make individualism the primary theme of the show, I think.... Still, you never know...
and
and 