Stabs in the Dark

This post concerns my theories on the questions posed last week. This contains spoilers up to and including Dr. Linus.

A.1 What is the origin of the Jacob / MIB conflict?
Jailer and Prisoner. MIB has been Jacob's prisoner, forced into protecting the island.

A.2 What have been Widmore's motives?
Even tho this is A.2, it's the one I left to last to try and answer. I think it's because his motives are so beautifully ambiguous.
Theory 1: Widmore is on Team Jacob
Everything he has done he has done for the good of the island, including sending the crew of the Kahana in season 4. Widmore genuinly believed that Ben needed to be removed from power for the good of the island. In a way, he was right as Ben killed Jacob at the end of season 5.
Counter: Bram, who is definitley Team Jacob thought he was on the wrong team.
Counter Counter: This could be evidence of infighting on Team Jacob, all working towards the same ends, but using different means.

Theory 2: Widmore is on Team MIB
Since his exile, he has been in contact with MIB or his followers. Evidence for this is that Miles was warned by Bram and Ilana (who are definitley Team Jacob) that in working for Widmore he was working for the wrong team.
Counter: He was exiled for having a child with an outsider and leaving the island regularly, not for being in MIBs thrall. If MIB end goal is to leave the island, it implies he hasn't left, then how could he recruit Charles?
Counter Counter: Widmore could have allied himself with Team MIB without MIBs consent, aiming to get the Island Protector job that MIB offered Ben in Dr. Linus.

Theory 3: Widmore is Team Widmore
Counter: This goes against the black and white duology that the show has been using, all the way back to the backgammon game in the pilot.

I'm leaning towards a combination of Theory 2 and 3, I thinking about 1 more, whilst it is possible it would spoil the Ben vs Widmore angle that has been building up nicely since Season 4. I think Ben and Widmore are two classic cases of power corrupts / absolute power corrupts absolutely. Furthermore, I think Ben is the redeemed and Widmore is the irredeemable.

A.3 Why can't Ben and Widmore kill each other?
They have both been baptised in the temple and are forbidden to break that rule. Much like Immortals in Highlander can't fight on holy ground.

A.4 What were the rules in The Shape of Things to Come? How did Widmore change them?
In addition to being unable to kill each other, they cannot kill candidates. Alex Rousseau was a candidate.

A.5 What is the significance of the flash sideways timeline?
The flash sideways timeline is what would have happened had the plane not crashed. This includes the consequences of the time flashes in season 5, like Sayid shooting Ben and his healing by Richard.

A.6 What is Richard's origin?
Richard came on the Black Rock. Just say it already!

A.7 Who sent the periodic resupply drops?
The Others pretended to the outside DHARMA Iniative that the purge never happened and they continued to supply the island. DHARMA was informed of an outbreak of something, that prevented them from sending new recruits. This is the reason for all the quaraneteen signs all over the hatches.

A.8 Who said "Help me" in the Cabin when Locke visited it first?
This seems like a push from the MIB to send Locke along the route he went down. In addition the things flying around require a very similar power to what MIB used to free Ben in Dr. Linus. We already know that he can be very very small, e.g. Medusa Spider in Expose.

A.9 Who has been using the cabin and was it ever Jacob's?
I got nothing.

A.10 Who were Adam and Eve? How and when did they die?
MIB and Jacob's original forms. Seems unlikely as Jacob was killed by a knife.

A.11 Why couldn't MIB kill Jacob? What was the loophole he found?
The loophole was Jacob could only die if someone killed him of their own free will. It could be stronger than that tho, it may have needed to have been Ben as he was leader of the Others.

A.12 What are the whispers?
Whispers are related to the Other's method of movement around the Island. See B.9. This is why Ben told Danielle Rousseau to run if she heard them.

A.13 Who was the boy in The Substitute?
I got nothing.

A.14 Why does Ilana state that the Man in Black is now locked in Locke's form?
Idea 1: Because Jacob is dead.
Idea 2: Because he stood in the water on the Hydra island.

A.15 What is Christian and what happened to his body?
Christian is a representation of the Island itself.

A.16 What is the sickness / infection that has Sayid (and probably Claire)?
As Dogen said, it's the internal scale being out of balance. See also C.4.

B.1 How did Jughead blow the survivors from 1977 to 2007?
Maybe it was the will of Jacob? Gah, I got nothing.

B.2 What is Aaron's supposed significance?
I got nothing.

B.3 How did the Black Rock get in the middle of the island?
Not sure, maybe MIB threw it there when it landed. He did seem kinda annoyed that it was there in The Incident.

B.4 How did the statue break?
I got nothing. The same reason the black rock ends up in the middle of the jungle?

B.5 Who shot at the boat during the time flashes?
I got nothing.

B.6 Why is Jacob bringing people to the island, and what is the 'end product' he is seeking?
To prove that people can change. To find a candidate to replace himself.

B.7 Why did killing Dogen allow MIB to enter the temple?
He was the guardian of the temple, with him dead the temple was just a place.

B.8 Why did Adam and Eve have black and white stones in their pockets?
The stones represent MIB and Jacob, as seen in the cliffside cave scale.

B.9 How did Harper suddenly appear and disappear into the jungle in The Other Woman?
The Others have a special way of moving around the island. This is referenced by Richard in Dr. Linus.

B.10 Who listed the Candidates in the Lighthouse?
The Lighthouse is Jacob's list. Everything so far has associated Jacob with white and light.

B.11 Who listed the Candidates in the cliffside cave?
This is MIBs copy of the list. Everything so far has associated him with black.

B.12 How was Sayid ressurected? Was that the intended result?
It wasn't the intended result. If Jacob was still alive the baptism would have healed him, as it had young Ben back in the 1970s.

B.13 Whose eye did Hurley see in the cabin?
Maybe Locke, Christian, MIB... not sure. Hedging my bets on this one.

C.1 How did Jacob / MIB get their powers?
Prolonged exposure to the island? Aliens? Who knows...

C.2 Why was Walt so special?
I don't think we will see Walt again. Perhaps his powers were similar to the ones exhibited by Jacob or MIB in their youth.

C.3 What is the origin and power of the Numbers?
The numbers relate to important candidates. I think that is all we are getting.

C.4 Is the sickness/infection that has Sayid the same that affected Rousseau's science team?
I think so, yes.

C.5 What's the reasoning behind the Other's burial rituals?
Something to do with the MIBs use of dead bodies.

C.6 What was that giant bird?
Erm... the island is wierd?

C.7 Why did Richard Malkin insist that Claire must raise her child by herself?
He really was psychic and saw the consequences of Kate raising Aaron.

C.8 Why did some survivors go to 1977 after the Ajira flight and others like Sun and Ben stay in 2007?
Theory 1: Only the candidates went back to 1977. This contradicts Ilana's claim that Frank is a candidate tho.
Theory 2: People went where they needed to be.

C.9 Why were there pregnancy issues on the island?
Theory 1: A side effect of the gas used in the Purge.
Theory 2: The statue is of a fertility god, when it broke something happened.

Hopefully to be found...

This post concerns LOST and it's final season. These are the questions I would like answers to before the end of the show at the end of May.

A - Please Answer...

Things I really want to know before LOST ends

1. What is the origin of the Jacob / MIB conflict?
2. What have been Widmore's motives?
3. Why can't Ben and Widmore kill each other?
4. What were the rules in The Shape of Things to Come? How did Widmore change them?
5. What is the significance of the flash sideways timeline?
6. What is Richard's origin?
7. Who sent the periodic resupply drops?
8. Who said "Help me" in the Cabin when Locke visited it first?
9. Who has been using the cabin and was it ever Jacob's?
10. Who were Adam and Eve? How and when did they die?
11. Why couldn't MIB kill Jacob? What was the loophole he found?
12. What are the whispers?
13. Who was the boy in The Substitute?
14. Why does Ilana state that the Man in Black is now locked in Locke's form?
15. What is Christian and what happened to his body?
16. What is the sickness / infection that has Sayid (and probably Claire)?

B - Would Be Nice To Know...

Things it would be nice to have answered before LOST ends, but can live without.

1. How did Jughead blow the survivors from 1977 to 2007?
2. What is Aaron's supposed significance?
3. How did the Black Rock get in the middle of the island?
4. How did the statue break?
5. Who shot at the boat during the time flashes?
6. Why is Jacob bringing people to the island, and what is the 'end product' he is seeking?
7. Why did killing Dogen allow MIB to enter the temple?
8. Why did Adam and Eve have black and white stones in their pockets?
9. How did Harper suddenly appear and disappear into the jungle in The Other Woman?
10. Who listed the Candidates in the Lighthouse?
11. Who listed the Candidates in the cliffside cave?
12. How was Sayid ressurected? Was that the intended result?
13. Whose eye did Hurley see in the cabin?

C - Erm... I Think You'll Be Left Hanging There Mate.

Closure desired on these, but don't think the show will get to them before the end.

1. How did Jacob / MIB get their powers?
2. Why was Walt so special?
3. What is the origin and power of the Numbers?
4. Is the sickness/infection that has Sayid the same that affected Rousseau's science team?
5. What's the reasoning behind the Other's burial rituals?
6. What was that giant bird?
7. Why did Richard Malkin insist that Claire must raise her child by herself?
8. Why did some survivors go to 1977 after the Ajira flight and others like Sun and Ben stay in 2007?
9. Why were there pregnancy issues on the island?

10 Fave Shows from the Last Decade

Shows of the last Decade

In a rechallenge after my top 5 Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes challenge, @Rickleton asked me my top ten shows of the last decade. This one was a real poser and I'm probably wrong (even tho it's my list) as I'm sure to have missed some stuff off, but here we go true believers!
Considering 9 and 10 just changed as I was writing this down, this is very influx!

10   Life on Mars / Ashes to Ashes
"Your're surrounded by armed bastards!" and yes they count as one show in my eyes - the policeperson stuck in the past (or are they?) show. Which is admitedly not as catchy so the beeb was probably right to go with what they did.

 9   The Inbetweeners
Bus Wankers! Camping Club! Fishing! Pure comedy gold, and all so true. Bec asked if boys are really like that. Now she doesn't want our son to go to school. At least we won't be sending him there with a briefcase.

8   Scrubs
"Let me go ahead and share alittle something special with you that i like to call Perry's perspective: one, if someone is standing in front of me in line at the coffee shop and can't decide what they want in the half hour it took to get to the register then i should be allowed to kill them; two, i am fairly sure that if they took porn off the internet, there would only be one website left and it would be called bring back the porn; three, and most importantly of all, the only way to be respected as a doctor and a man is to be an island, you are born alone, you damn sure die alone. isn't that right spike? the point is, and you might want to jot this down, only the weak need help."
The interplay between Dr Cox and JD is the highlight of this show.
But there'll be banana hammocks everywhere!

 7   Being Human
The concept sounds like something you would come up with in a pub. "What would happen if a ghost, a werewof and a vampire lived together? But the result is so much more. Now getting a remake in the states. That'll be as successful as their version of Life on Mars then.

6   True Blood
Sort of like the best X-Men tales, where being a mutant and mutant oppression is an allegory for racism, so is this, but with vampires who have come out of the shadows thanks to a blood subsititute you can buy in bars, add in a serial killer and the fact that vampire blood is a drug for humans you have an orignal take on vampires. Throw in a psychic and a shapechanger and your on the way to funtimes.
Speaking of the X-Men...

 5   Wolverine and the X-Men
Controversial choice, as I'm only 20 episodes in, but this is the X-Men done right. I was sceptical due to the name, as wolverine is far from my favourite x-person so more wolverine was pretty much the last thing an x-verse adaptation needs. There is knowing nods (rarely a cameo wasted) to people who have read a lot of X-Men, but you never need to have. Probably the best X-adaptation since the 1990's cartoon series. There are at least 4 different threads running through the series with a sequential plot line rarely found in a cartoon program aired on cbbc. Plus there is a really good Emma Frost arc. This is how cartoons used to be, at least in my mind's eye. Best cartoon since Mysterious Cities of Gold. There I said it.
If I wasn't watching it, would I have included it? That's the question that only time will answer. I like to think yes.

4   Dexter
He's a nice guy, but a serial killer, but still a nice guy. The highlight season was season 2 with the whole, how is he going to get away with that vibe.

 3   Doctor Who
If you're going to bring a show back this is how to do it. It's dragged a little in the off season, but look set to dominate 2010 when it returns with doctor 11.

2   Lost
For the best TV, there is an element of the unknown and Lost certainly has that, there are mysteries. Things aren't explained straight away (if at all), even when they are there isn't a knowing nudge to the viewer saying "eh, eh? See what we did there, we're so smart!" you're expected to pay attention, keep up and remember stuff. Anything that has websites devoted to theories on what is going to happen is a good thing. It started to lag a little in season 3, but the writers took the unprecidented move of negotiating an end date, with a finite number of episodes left things kicked back to high gear and haven't looked back. The fact that no-one knows what season 6 (the final one) will bring only heightens expectation.

 1   Supernatural
This. This is how you create a new universe show. You start with "monster of the week" episodes gradually building the audience and introducing the mythology. You have killer cliffhangers each season so you never know what goes on. You have two awesome leads that really bounce off each other. You have humour, but never let it over power it, indeed some of the "comedy" episodes are the most poignant (Yes, Mystery Spot - I'm looking at you. Tuesday? Pig in a poke. Heat of the moment. Etc..)
Each season the stakes get higher and higher. Pure brilliance.
I could talk about this show forever, and if you expect me to do that, mines a purple nurple.

You had it... you lost it.
Heroes - Up until the last episode of season 1, quality. Last episode of season one - average to poor.
24 - Seasons 1-4, great, afterwards plot recycling costs and knowing the characters ultimate fates cost it a place in the top 10.
Sanctuary - Strong enough 1st season, second season the cliffhanger was resolved in an unfavourable way, eventually leading to a give up.

Gah, can't believe I didn't include...
Firefly (all too short), Dollhouse (almost, almost), Peep Show, Mighty Boosh and probably lots more.

5 Favourite...

5 Favourite Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

The other day in email I asked @Rickleton what his 5 favourite next generation episodes were. This was his list, and this is mine.

5   1x25 - Conspiracy
Ah, when a TV show season used to get to 25 comfortably. Anyway, I think that this was the first episode of the next generation that really got me, don't get me wrong, the rest of the first season was pleasent and enjoyable 6pm wednesday viewing with the folks, but corruption! Intrugue! Betrayal!

 4   6x07 - Relics
It's the Next Generation, but with Scotty! The highlight being in the holodeck, (Hurrah! a use for it that wasn't a cheap psuedo time travel episode) where he tries to get it display the bridge of the Enterprise and says "No bloody A, B, C, or D". Amen sir, the millions who watched last years Star Trek film agree with you.

3   7x12 - The Pegasus
It has a spaceship, in a rock. How cool is that? How did it get there? What's Riker's old Captain up to? Where do Riker's loyalties lay? (Well after nearly 7 seasons, it should be fairly obvious. There was never a high turnaround of main cast). It has mystery galore, which is the key to good drama. And Romulans. Can't beat a bit of Romulan, unless it's in Star Trek: Nemesis of course.

 2   5x24 - The Next Phase
I always wondered what it would be like to see your own funeral, and this is Trek telling that story. Almost. We don't quite get that far, but it's a good take on the concept. Plus as background to this is a stand off with the Romulans. Can't beat a bit of Rom... oh nevermind, you get the point.

1   3x15 - Yesterday's Enterprise
Getting to see a new Enterprise, how awesome is that? All good things are here, alternative realities, battles and explosions, plus giving a character who died a pointless death a chance to go out in a bit more style. I seem to recall it's called a pointless death in the episode by Guinan.