Not having Sky One, I have been reliant on kind friends to send me series 3 of Lost as it comes out. Justin‘s recently taken up the mantle and is sending me a couple of episodes every fortnight.
I’ll not give any spoilers – other than to say the series has been up to its usual standard of twists, turns, and edge-of-the-seat drama. It still remains probably the best thing on telly.
However, in episode 7 they committed a major faux-pas. In a flashback sequence, a character passes an army recruitment office in London and is briefly distracted by a poster in the window, which contains two unforgiveable errors.
- The poster is advertising the Royal Scots. Why would they be recruiting in London?
- The caption at the bottom is “Honor and Adventure”.
There are few things I hate more in life than American spelling, and the arrogance and ignorance with which the show’s producers used it in a British context was startling.
I’ll forgive them, though. It’s Lost, after all.
I listen to the Lost podcast, which features the producers/writers, and they confirmed that it was a mistake rather than a conspiracy. Lost fans like to pick up on small details and make them significant…
Aside from the Royal Scots recruiting in London, there was the fact that most of the London scenes (except for the obvious Big Ben shot) were blatantly not London. The parking meters and American-looking cabs gave away the fact that it was probably shot at their Hawaii location.
There were, however, potential “bloopers” that seem to have been put into that episode on purpose, like the shifting picture on bastard daddy’s office walls.
Not that I am insisting on the superiority of American spelling (which I am not–I, frankly, don’t care) and not that I think that the producers’ mistake was inconsequential (because, clearly, they should have been paying better attention), but why have the “u” in honor, anyway? You don’t pronounce it, right?
How does Justin give you copies of the show?
Tonight’s is supposedly a Hurley episode, all of the previous of which have been great.
Hah, why don’t I have friends with Sky One, should have made that a mandatory requirement when choosing my friends…
Sky+ + DVD recorder + Royal Mail = Lost-based goodness for Simon. And we get it on Sunday here, sow watch you don’t tell us what happens before then… 4 days is better than the 3 month wait we had for series 1 and 2, though.
Yo yo Chip. Although I’m quite certain you are well aware of the nature of a Glasgow kiss & will have picked up the my most excellent sense of facetiousness (not to be confused with sense of humouuur, as of course I am one of those Americans without a clue) but I feel just slightly compelled to clarify that a Glasgow kiss is nothing more than a concise and brutal head butt, of which Simon most definitely deserves of late! :-O Oh so true! Simon, I say, what is all this American angst? Not only are we lacking the clever & prestigious funny gene but now are also arrogant and ignorant? Again, ouch.
The u is to make you say on-urr, not on-or.
And what is that up there ^ all about?
^Oh dear. Yep, a bit out of place here. Sorry – refer to Hot Fuzz commentary.^
Ok, Justin, I buy your argument.
Danny, you should have Simon pass on the DVRs to you after he’s finished. Share and share alike, right?
So you’re telling me that LOST airs for you all on Sunday nights, not Wednesday nights? So it airs on the Sunday after we here in the US see it? Huh.,,interesting. I wonder what the reason is for the delay. Well Justin, as far as I know, you don’t read my blog (where I usually do talk about LOST on Thursdays) and I wouldn’t post about it in the comments, so you shouldn’t have to worry about hearing any spoilers (at least, from me).
I guess that they could show it on a Wednesday night if they wanted, but they have built the Sunday schedule around 24 and Lost. I wonder if the US chennel has an exclusive period of a few days where no-one else can show it?
And yes, I have read your blog, but I tend to forget about bookmarks and then catch up on them every week or 2. I shall put you in my google reader: it’s the only way I keep up with any blogs…
It’s interesting that they pair 24 and LOST up because they’re on separate networks here, LOST being an ABC show and 24 being a show on FOX. I guess, though, that you get them on the same station because you have neither FOX nor ABC?
I don’t think the US channels block the air date of the show in foreign markets (at least for LOST) because I have heard that it comes on earlier on Wednesday in Canada (like at 8p instead of 10p). My friend Nathaniel back in CA actually downloads the show from someone from Canada who uploads it and watches it long before the episode ends up airing in the Pacific Time Zone. According to Lostpedia, Ireland airs LOST on Mondays…just be thankful you don’t live there.
It shows here on Thursday nights, but that’s probably because the kangaroos take a while to deliver the mail…
PPS. On the language side, isn’t it true that all languages evolve? After 200+ years you would expect new words and spellings, wouldn’t you? Spellings in “UK” english have changed even in that period. The USA is thousands of miles away, after all: you’ll just have to face the fact that they speak a variant of English, like the Spanish in Spain and South America.
Interesting aside: aluminium and aluminum have equal historical justification, with aluminum being the name originally proposed by the English and French chemists.
Lostpedia sounds cool – I’d best not delve too deep into it though in case of spoilers!
Genevieve – calm down my dear! First I didn’t say Americans had no sense of humour, I just said they couldn’t come up with anything like Hot Fuzz because the humour was so British. I was stating the obvious and could as well have said any country.
I’ll be wearing a crash helmet next time I see you. Whenever that is…
Doesn’t Genevieve’s comment sort of imply that she does not have enough of a sense of humor to let it go? Maybe us Americans do have no hope (or humor), as I was initially a bit put off by the spelling thing, but have managed to shrug it off. It’s not my fault I was taught to drop the Us and not your fault that you were taught to adore them. 🙂 I appreciate Justin’s comment about language evolving, because I think that’s absolutely true. Although British spelling seems a bit excessive (what with all of the extra Us), I do have to admit that it looks much cooler than my American bastardization. But maybe I think that just because you all are so exotic.
AND! Lostpedia is awesome. You’re pretty safe with spoilers on that site, as they will put in a big box “Spoiler Alert” to warn you of content beneath it that does spoil. I have mostly only ever seen spoilers on the Episodes part of the website, but there are a ton of other pages that categorize the characters or list various people’s theories, keep the actions of the Others, etc.
You mean “bastardisation”…
LOL yes, exactly what I meant. 🙂
And shouldn’t you boycott it because it is not called “Lostpaedia”?
And my theory is that the final episode will see Desmond time travelling/looping back to the point where he didn’t push the button, this time typing the numbers and preventing the crash. I reckon the end will be the flight arriving safely in LA…
The irony of a ‘lost’ sense of humor… Jenny yankee friend, I’m giving Simon a wee battering of banter here – take nothing literally and always let everything ‘go’ – especially all forms of labeling… I mean labelling! 😀
Simon – Saturday night! Are you at Joe’s ceilidh? I’ve so much to let go off – bring that helmet! 😉
Evidence of your good Scottish sense of humour, Genevieve – you’ve been here a long time! Yes, I’ll be there on Friday, with full body armour and squad of bodyguards.
Justin, that is an interesting theory…so you think the whole thing is a figment of Desmond’s imagination? How does that then comment on Desmond’s being chained to the computer? Is he ever able to escape that imprisonment?
I don’t think it’s in his mind, in fact I’m sure that it will all be real. It seems to me that they have set up Desmond as a person stuck in a “time-loop” who has become aware of his ability to change events for the better. I’m going to guess that Charlie wont die, proving to Desmond that he can change things and giving him courage to save a whole plane-load of people. Or something like that. I have no Idea about Penelope, the Others, and Hanso though. All I’m noticing is a lot of religious symbolism with the Others.
I just like looking at the cute guys, but hey I’m sad, middle aged and totally shallow…
On the other hand I’m with Justin on the Desmond time loop theory and the plane eventually reaching its destination …and thats without having seen anything of series three (I must have hidden depths afterall)