Is 'Lost' one big homage to 'Get Smart'?
The endless subplots and surprise revelations of the desert-island thriller "Lost" have driven viewers to embrace all sorts of theories about What It All Means. But maybe the answer lies close to home. At least if your home happens to contain DVDs of the 1960s spy sitcom "Get Smart."
"Lost" is in the middle of its fifth season, which some fans have described as one of its most challenging (or frustrating) ever. But it spoils nothing to report that much of the ABC series' mystery has depended on an unusual phenomenon in which electromagnetism causes the island to move, rendering it impossible to locate.
But was all of this actually prefigured in "Get Smart," Mel Brooks' classic parody starring Don Adams as the bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart?
A friend of ours pointed out (half tongue-in-cheek, but still) that during the 12th episode of the fourth season, which originally aired on Dec. 21, 1968, Max and his new bride, Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon), are stranded on Schwartz's Island.
It just so happens that Schwartz's Island moves. And what do you know? In the center of the island sits ... a giant electromagnet. Freaky, isn't it?
So, is it all just coincidence, or do "Lost" producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof secretly worship at the shrine of Brooks and Adams?
"Yes, that is in the category of complete coincidence," Cuse e-mailed back when we ran the notion by him. "Never heard of that until now — among ALL the theories!"
Lindelof added: "But, for the record, we DO worship at the shrine of Mel Brooks and Don Adams!"
Some "Lost" mysteries are resolved more easily than others.
— Scott Collins
How dare you put "Get Smart" in the same sentence as "Lost"...
Posted by: Roy From Atwater | March 03, 2009 at 02:39 AM
Would you believe "Lost" is so far below "Get Smart" all they can see is the bottom of Max's phone? (Shoe phone, that is...) Please...
Posted by: Roy From Atwater | March 03, 2009 at 02:41 AM
"Lost" truly needs to "Get Smart" and "Get Lost"...put a Cone of Silence over it and send it to the bottom of the ocean.
Posted by: Roy From Atwater | March 03, 2009 at 02:44 AM
Hey Roy from Atwater,
We get it. You don't like LOST. It's confusing and frustrating AND it's also incredibly well written and gripping. Obviously you just don't trust it. Once it's over it will go down among the television classics - yes, the same classics that Get Smart is big part of.
Posted by: Ryan | March 03, 2009 at 11:02 AM
This gets more interesting. Schwartz's Island must be a sly reference to Gilligan's Island, the 1960s TV comedy created by Sherwood Schwartz. Some fans have found links between Gilligan's Island and Lost, drawing parallels between characters: Mr. Howell and Hurley are both extremely wealthy, the Professor and Faraday are both nerdy scientists, the castaways finally get off the island only to return.
Posted by: Scott Crowson | March 04, 2009 at 01:05 AM
It's actually a direct reference Sherwood Schwartz and Gilligan's Island; this episode was also filmed on the Gilligan lagoon set.
Posted by: Vernilu | March 05, 2009 at 08:09 AM