FOG
While making the literal EXODUS to what will become their new camp (and our standing sets), a
thick fog descends upon the island, quickly separating our castaways from one other. Small groups .
are isolated by the tricks and treachery of the island, but also by their stupidity, short-sightedness,
and sometimes cowardice. As the unlikely pairings of survivors face their situation, they will eam
a great deal about each other and themselves in an episode which serves as a conduit for critical
character-detining actions and FLASHBACKS...
This concept of a mysterious fog shrouding the island as the survivors need to make their way to a new camp sounds interesting. It seems liked a good vehicle to have characters interact and talk about themselves in small groups. It would be a viewer meet and greet. Fog has been a film noir tool to increase the mystery and danger lurking in the mist. It is odd that this classic film mode was not used in the series to start character development. One of the issues apparently was that whole "exodus" from the beach to the new homestead idea was abandoned very quickly.
VlNCENT
In an attempt to find common ground with Walt, Michael ventures into the jungle to find his son's pet Labrador. Upon locating Vincent, Michael is surprised to see that not only has the dog's ear been bitten off, but that the bite marks appear to be HUMAN.
The first part of this story idea was used in the show. Michael kept Walt in the camp under the promise that he would go out and find his dog. Yes, it was a means of Michael trying to communicate with Walt - - - to show him that his father still cared about him. That was going to be the story thread for these two characters. But what is really surprising is that the shocking twist when finding Vincent is that it has a human bite mark on him would have been very scary and emotionally jarring to the viewers (maybe too much so - - - from an animal rights perspective.) I would have liked to see this full concept used in the series - - - because the idea of a mad man in lurking in the jungle would have added a realistic notion of terror.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
When Boone stumbles into the camp badly beaten and barely conscious, an immediate investigation is launched to determine who is responsible. Sawyer is revealed to be the culprit, but both he and Boone are unwilling to talk about what happened (setting up a mystery that bears resolution). The ethical issue at hand - meting out some sort of penalty for breaking the camp's only law - "No harm to each other." Unfortunately, the only options are jail, withholding food... or the purest and most apt - letting the punishment fit the crime.
The "eye for an eye" justice system never came to pass in the series. Yes, there were some physical fights, yelling and screaming, stealing of supplies and accusations, but there was never an "investigation," never an authority figure passing judgment and more important, there was never any punishment for bad behavior. The theme that bad behavior was not punished (at at times actually rewarded) has been a sticking point for some viewers. If bad behavior was not punished, what is the lesson of the show? Was that a clue that they were in a place where bad actions had no consequences (like in hell)? Or if you have no core values, nothing matters. All those things are never addressed or resolved in the series to the detriment of the overall status of the show.
The idea of Sawyer and Boone having a guide confrontation is easy to see: Sawyer would be hoarding supplies and having a relationship with Shannon, Boone's sister. Boone, off his meds, would become violent, a Heckle and Jeykl personality, something that Sawyer may have to cover up in order not to upset his new girlfriend. It is that type of interpersonal deal making that could have been more fully developed in the beach camp (because that was the way of life for the Others under Ben's rule).
ELECTION
After a failed attempt at communism, followed by a glorified version of"Every Man For Himself," the castaways finally realize they need ONE PERSON to make decisions which effect the whole group. Despite his reluctance to take on such responsibility, Jack emerges as the early favorite... but when he fails to provide food or water, a DARK HORSE candidate rises to challenge his leadership - Locke.
Now, this guide story idea is actually better constructed than what played out in the series. The beach campers basically went into self-preservation mode early on after the crash, foraging for themselves unless given an assignment by Jack to find something to treat someone's injuries.
The writers never attempted to put any order in the beach camp. There was no communism, socialism or democracy tried by the castaways. It was more like hanging out at an airport gate; the only common trait was that they were all just passengers.
No, a quick and easy dismissal of any such conflict was the castaways turning to Jack because he was a doctor. This lead to his acceptance speech, "Live Together or Die Alone." But as time passed, no one really truly followed Jack. They did not relocate to the caves. They did not follow him into battle. For the most part, they let other main characters do all their dirty work for them. Indeed, Locke wanted to be considered a leader of the group, and he did provide food - - - but he also put some unease into most people because of his outback persona and his trait of trying "too hard." Locke really never understood people, in social situations, so he was not prepared to lobby for support or gain trust of strangers. The Jack-Locke leadership rift was short lived, with Locke basically going off on his own to become an island native.
So quickly in Season 1, the writers abandoned one of the main story tenets of the series: that the castaways were going to build a functioning democratic community on the island as their means of s long term survival.
THE OTHERS
After Shannon has a snit with Sawyer (the object of her affection despite her adamant denial of said fact), she wanders deep into the jungle and stumbles upon TWO STRANGE YOUNG MEN who may or may not have been survivors of the crash. As they're unwilling to let her go back, it becomes clear it's the latter. Back at the camp ,Sawyer and Boone must resolve their differences in
order to form an unlikely rescue team in order to get her back.
NOTE: This story may be our first formal sighting/interaction with "The Others." Their origins and numbers (it could be a whole TRIBE for all we know) a mystery, all we get at this point is that they're fiercely intelligent, aggressive and not at all pleased to be sharing "their" island with our castaways.
This story line was changed to have Claire being the kidnap victim by Ethan, an Other camp spy, in order to get access to her baby. Charlie was the one who dashed off to rescue her. This takes a great departure from the original guide story. In fact, it is a weaker story construct than what was filmed for the series. For some reason, Boone and Shannon's characters were downgraded from the top half of the main character board to the bottom.
Now the Others did become a foe, and did remark that to us that the island was their "home." It was only their good graces that allowed the castaways to stay. Part of the mystery of the Others was never explained in the series, especially the statement that it was "their island."
This concept of a mysterious fog shrouding the island as the survivors need to make their way to a new camp sounds interesting. It seems liked a good vehicle to have characters interact and talk about themselves in small groups. It would be a viewer meet and greet. Fog has been a film noir tool to increase the mystery and danger lurking in the mist. It is odd that this classic film mode was not used in the series to start character development. One of the issues apparently was that whole "exodus" from the beach to the new homestead idea was abandoned very quickly.
VlNCENT
In an attempt to find common ground with Walt, Michael ventures into the jungle to find his son's pet Labrador. Upon locating Vincent, Michael is surprised to see that not only has the dog's ear been bitten off, but that the bite marks appear to be HUMAN.
The first part of this story idea was used in the show. Michael kept Walt in the camp under the promise that he would go out and find his dog. Yes, it was a means of Michael trying to communicate with Walt - - - to show him that his father still cared about him. That was going to be the story thread for these two characters. But what is really surprising is that the shocking twist when finding Vincent is that it has a human bite mark on him would have been very scary and emotionally jarring to the viewers (maybe too much so - - - from an animal rights perspective.) I would have liked to see this full concept used in the series - - - because the idea of a mad man in lurking in the jungle would have added a realistic notion of terror.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
When Boone stumbles into the camp badly beaten and barely conscious, an immediate investigation is launched to determine who is responsible. Sawyer is revealed to be the culprit, but both he and Boone are unwilling to talk about what happened (setting up a mystery that bears resolution). The ethical issue at hand - meting out some sort of penalty for breaking the camp's only law - "No harm to each other." Unfortunately, the only options are jail, withholding food... or the purest and most apt - letting the punishment fit the crime.
The "eye for an eye" justice system never came to pass in the series. Yes, there were some physical fights, yelling and screaming, stealing of supplies and accusations, but there was never an "investigation," never an authority figure passing judgment and more important, there was never any punishment for bad behavior. The theme that bad behavior was not punished (at at times actually rewarded) has been a sticking point for some viewers. If bad behavior was not punished, what is the lesson of the show? Was that a clue that they were in a place where bad actions had no consequences (like in hell)? Or if you have no core values, nothing matters. All those things are never addressed or resolved in the series to the detriment of the overall status of the show.
The idea of Sawyer and Boone having a guide confrontation is easy to see: Sawyer would be hoarding supplies and having a relationship with Shannon, Boone's sister. Boone, off his meds, would become violent, a Heckle and Jeykl personality, something that Sawyer may have to cover up in order not to upset his new girlfriend. It is that type of interpersonal deal making that could have been more fully developed in the beach camp (because that was the way of life for the Others under Ben's rule).
ELECTION
After a failed attempt at communism, followed by a glorified version of"Every Man For Himself," the castaways finally realize they need ONE PERSON to make decisions which effect the whole group. Despite his reluctance to take on such responsibility, Jack emerges as the early favorite... but when he fails to provide food or water, a DARK HORSE candidate rises to challenge his leadership - Locke.
Now, this guide story idea is actually better constructed than what played out in the series. The beach campers basically went into self-preservation mode early on after the crash, foraging for themselves unless given an assignment by Jack to find something to treat someone's injuries.
The writers never attempted to put any order in the beach camp. There was no communism, socialism or democracy tried by the castaways. It was more like hanging out at an airport gate; the only common trait was that they were all just passengers.
No, a quick and easy dismissal of any such conflict was the castaways turning to Jack because he was a doctor. This lead to his acceptance speech, "Live Together or Die Alone." But as time passed, no one really truly followed Jack. They did not relocate to the caves. They did not follow him into battle. For the most part, they let other main characters do all their dirty work for them. Indeed, Locke wanted to be considered a leader of the group, and he did provide food - - - but he also put some unease into most people because of his outback persona and his trait of trying "too hard." Locke really never understood people, in social situations, so he was not prepared to lobby for support or gain trust of strangers. The Jack-Locke leadership rift was short lived, with Locke basically going off on his own to become an island native.
So quickly in Season 1, the writers abandoned one of the main story tenets of the series: that the castaways were going to build a functioning democratic community on the island as their means of s long term survival.
THE OTHERS
After Shannon has a snit with Sawyer (the object of her affection despite her adamant denial of said fact), she wanders deep into the jungle and stumbles upon TWO STRANGE YOUNG MEN who may or may not have been survivors of the crash. As they're unwilling to let her go back, it becomes clear it's the latter. Back at the camp ,Sawyer and Boone must resolve their differences in
order to form an unlikely rescue team in order to get her back.
NOTE: This story may be our first formal sighting/interaction with "The Others." Their origins and numbers (it could be a whole TRIBE for all we know) a mystery, all we get at this point is that they're fiercely intelligent, aggressive and not at all pleased to be sharing "their" island with our castaways.
This story line was changed to have Claire being the kidnap victim by Ethan, an Other camp spy, in order to get access to her baby. Charlie was the one who dashed off to rescue her. This takes a great departure from the original guide story. In fact, it is a weaker story construct than what was filmed for the series. For some reason, Boone and Shannon's characters were downgraded from the top half of the main character board to the bottom.
Now the Others did become a foe, and did remark that to us that the island was their "home." It was only their good graces that allowed the castaways to stay. Part of the mystery of the Others was never explained in the series, especially the statement that it was "their island."
Clearly, there were some interesting ideas that did not make it into the show.
However, there was an intentional philosophical change in the story basics when TPTB abandoned their core stories of crime and punishment on the island, the trials and tribulations of the survivors actually moving to make a new settlement in the jungle and the transplanted democracy and elections to maintain order in the group.
