It’s time, Lost fans, to stop obsessing over what that recurring sequence of six mysterious numbers means. Not even series co-creator Damon Lindelof knows. ”I think that that question will never, ever be answered. I couldn’t possibly imagine [how we would answer that question],” he tells TVGuide.com’s Michael Ausiello, whose spoiler column this week is devoted primarily to an extensive interview with Lindelof and co-producer Carlton Cuse. ”We will see more ramifications of the numbers and more usage of the numbers,” Lindelof adds, ”but it boggles my mind when people ask me, ‘What do the numbers mean?”’ Other hints to ponder, as you prepare for tonight’s episode (an extended look at the backstory of the ”tailies”): Both Lindelof and Cuse say that Mr. Eko’s stick is a big clue. Uh, okay…
Nov 16
2005
02:45 PM ET
'Lost': What DO the numbers mean?
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Although I’m a big fan of the show, when one of the creators says he doesn’t have a clue what the numbers mean and we will never know makes me want to stop watching the show right now. This suggests they ARE making it up as they go along and don’t have a clue what/where they’re going. If the creators don’t know, all that says to me is we are heading into the land of The X Files that never did or could resolve its conspiracies or Twin Peaks, where, after ‘who killed Laura Palmer?’ was solved, had no place to go but cancellation. I hope they are not leading us down the garden path, but it sure sounds like they are.
I don’t think that’s too alarming. All that means is they don’t know what they MEAN, he doesn’t say that they don’t know where the numbers came from, their origin.
it means they are yankee fans lol http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-10-18-lost-clues_x.htm
For something that’s such a huge part of the show to not mean anything is a bit troubling. Hopefully Sebageek has the right perspective on this.
I knew it, I am the ape man coo coo ca choo, means nothing but gets people talking about it.
Lost Fan: “I can’t wait to find out what the numbers mean.”
Lost Creators: “Yeah, ditto.”
its true…after the first season it was essentialy over. They even filled THAT up with bullcrap. Too bad that its all about the moolah these days, and not good storylines. Bring “the numbers” in and then just dissmiss them…who da hell they playin with?
Scroo Lost, Im out!
I’m pretty sure that they are just making it up as they’re going along. I mean look at Alias which was made by the same producers – it started with a great storyline and then just turned weird and stupid.
I just hope that they won’t just keep going on without any resolution. I love Lost but when I saw who made it I already resigned myseld to giving up somewhere through Season 2.
Shame really.
Two of the numbers are ’8′ and ’15′….the Flight they were on was flight 8.15! One of the numbers is ’23′ and there were exactly 23 ‘tailies’ who survived. One of the numbers is ’42′ and there was ‘just over 40′ survivors on Jacks side of the island. …just some clues to think about.
THE HATCH THAT EVERYONE HAS SEEN IS A BOMB AND THE NUMBERS ARE THE SERIAL NUMBER OF THE BOMB THE MESSAGE THE FRENCH BIRD HEARD WAS THE PEOPLE WHO DROPPED THE BOMB TELLING PEOPLE TO STAY AWAY BECAUSE THE BOMB AINT GONE OFF YET BUT THE MSSAGE NEVER GETS HEARD BY ANYONE OUTSIDE THE BERMUDER TRAINGLE BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE THE ISLAND IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE.THE NUMBERS ARE ALSO THE COORDATIES FOR THE BURMUDER TRIANGLE ALL FOR 4 POINTS OF IT
Emma – Sorry to disappoint you, but the plane crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, not in the Atlantic Ocean. At no point in traveling on a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles (http://encarta.msn.com/map_701515479/Pacific_Ocean.html) would the plane have ever gone near the Bermuda Triangle (http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/bermudat.htm). Good try though.
Although Chris Carter was making it up as he went along, there was a myth arch, and he some idea where he was going with it. Here I’m afriad that we are dealing creators that have vague notions of their base concepts. I think our expectations of where the show can go and where they will take it will be a very disappointing divergence.
I think that the numbers are the directions to the location to the island. if you take Sydney as your starting point since that’s where it all started, coordinates 33 53′S, 151 12.59′E.Then think of the flight path to Los Angeles being in a North Easterly direction. So take the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 as the location in a north easterly direction from Sydney you get the coordinates 29 44.85′S 167 36.01′E. This is located just off the coast of Norfolk Island which is close to Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga in the Pacific. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it.
Now that’s funny…the thought that Chris Carter had some idea where he was going with X-files. If that really was Bernards voice on the radio Boone heard, and not made to sound like it, then they had a lot figured out already. The Hatch solved a lot of the problems real castaways would face, I mean come on…they have a washer and dryer now! Originally Locke was suppose to find the Hatch in the pilot, so it was planned well in advance.
Damn I really hope the numbers do mean something, as a large part of the story APPEARS to hinge on them (Hurley’s curse, the inputting of them to the computer.)
I really hope they aren’t simply dismissed without question…the viewers deserve more. I find it hard to believe they would just dismiss them though, as they seem to have a intriguing back story worked out for each meaningful character, as well as A LOT of supernatural visions/dreams etc happening. The show all seems very well planned, and executed with precision, so I hope its not all written on the back of a cigarette packet somewhere, or worse, not even fully written yet!