Lost (2004) - 26 questions

Question: Are the tattoos Jack and Charlie sport real tattoos the actors had, or are they put on by make-up?

Answer: They're real.

Question: In the premiere for season 2, in the hatch, when Jack enters the room with the computer that has the execute button, a song starts playing. What song is that?

Answer: "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Mama Cass Elliot.

Question: I know that on most flights, the animals are stored in the bottom section with the luggage. If the plane crashed, how did Vincent the dog survive?

Answer: We know that the tail section of the plane was torn off in mid-air, which would have exposed the luggage section - luggage seems to have been scattered over a reasonably wide area, so it was presumably falling out from that point onwards. The most likely scenario is that Vincent's carrier was ejected before the actual impact and Vincent survived the fall to the ground (it seems that his carrier was damaged enough that he could get out).

Question: Why is Sun on the cover of Disc 6 in the Lost DVD Box Set? She doesn't have as many episodes as anyone else, and it would have made more sense to use Locke.

Answer: It was a marketing decision - they're not under any obligation to make sense.

Question: I still cannot understand the dynamic of the plane crash. I mean, the tail breaks off at mid-air, and crashes into the let's say 'south' side of the island. The mid-section will end up at the other side ('north') and the cockpit crashes in the middle of the island, between the tail and the mid-section? I know this island is weird and full of mysteries, but this crash seems a little too bizarre. Any thoughts?

Answer: One plausible sequence of events is as follows. The tail section breaks off first and hits the ocean on the 'south' side. The plane is obviously not flying in a stable fashion at this point, and the loss of the tail is only going to make matters worse - it begins to tumble in mid-air, flipping end over end. Under those circumstances, it would be entirely plausible that the nose section could end up between the tail and the mid-section.

Question: In the season 3 finale, "Through the Looking Glass", why didn't Charlie just go out of the room and shut the door from the outside instead, then both he and Desmond would've survived? It just seems like such a strange decision.

Answer: The room could only be sealed from the inside. It was a split second decision he had to make. Perhaps he had already accepted his fate as predicted by Desmond. He also must have known that Desmond would have wanted to speak to Penny thus he wanted to prevent Desmond from endangering himself. Better one person die than both.

Question: In the scene in which we see Hurley being interviewed when he bought the restaurant in one of his flashbacks, a meteoroid crashes on it. Why was there no big commotion about that, and also why was only the building destroyed,not even leaving a crater?

Answer: It's most likely there was a commotion about it which wasn't shown in flashbacks. Also, since the probability of a meteoroid destroying a single restaurant is very, VERY small, and the reasons for this and other abnormal events' occurrences are as yet unknown, it is also unknown as to why said occurrences do not leave 'normal' side-effects (in this case, a crater).

Question: During the recent season of Lost (not sure about past seasons), during the promo for the show where it shows the island with the word LOST across it, the reflection of the island in the water does not match the island, but is in fact a city. I have not seen this discussed anywhere. Are there any thoughts or discussion about what this means?

Answer: Part of the storyline of the new season deals with events in the future after a number of survivors have escaped the island and are now living their lives back in the normal world. The island/city mix in the promotion could be designed to reflect this new set-up.

Question: Is Charlie Irish? His brother Liam has a very Irish name and accent, but Charlie sounds more British.

Answer: Nope, Charlie's British, most likely from Manchester. The name Liam was chosen for his brother as a deliberate nod to Liam Gallagher, who, with his brother Noel, formed the real-life band Oasis, which was part of the inspiration for Drive Shaft.

Question: Is there any relevance to the way the main characters' lives interacted before they crashed? E.g., Ana Lucia hitting Sawyer with a car door, Hurley owning the box company Locke worked for, Shannon reporting Sayid at the airport, Charlie saving Nadia from a mugger or Desmond getting a boat from Libby? (There are numerous others.) Is there a grand plan or is it just to add a bit of mystery which means nothing?

Answer: SPOILER ALERT. In a word YES. As seen in the finale of season 5, Jacob is seen visiting the main characters well before and after the events of the island. The whole show continues to show the connections between the characters. This seems to hint that the plane crash on the island was "meant to happen".

Question: What does the writing on Charlies fingers mean? Do they have any significance or are they just random?

Answer: Most likely they mean something to him, but we are never told so we can't be 100% certain.

Question: Something I read on Wikipedia made me wonder: were all six seasons planned out together in advance, or did each season develop naturally as it progressed?

Answer: While there has been a certain amount of development as the series has gone along, the creators have repeatedly stated that the basic mythology and major plot points for the show's intended run were put in place from the beginning.

Question: I know nothing about how actors are paid or the amounts but I've always wondered about this: if a character is featured in a "Previously on Lost" segment (but isn't in the following episode), does he/she get the same amount of money that an actor/actress who is in the entire episode earns?

Answer: An actor/actress typically signs a contract that gives the series usage rights for the entire season. This allows them to edit any of their performance into any of the episodes for the entire season (though it will typically state how many they intend to use it for). This includes the "Previously on..." as well as any flashbacks. Should the series wish to use any of that season's performance on another season then an additional fee will need to be paid. The actor/actress can refuse this fee (for any reason) and the series will be unable to use the recorded performance in any way. An actor that appears in a "previously on..." will not be credited, but if they appear in the episode proper (flashbacks, etc) then they will be credited.

Question: I was just wondering what those things are that Charlie wears on his fingers. He wears them in the first few episodes, and writes stuff on them, and stops wearing them at about episode 6. They look kind of like plasters. I was just wondering if anyone knew what they were?

Answer: I think they are exactly that - plasters...a bit like someone who would wear a wristband saying hope/fate or something like that.