I can understand Benry mentioning Bush's re-election and the Red Sox finally winning the World Series to pace time on the island, but does anyone else find the Christopher Reeve mention out of place?!?

Maybe Jack's file mentioned something about him being a huge Superman fan? Or maybe Ben thought Jack, a spinal surgeon, would naturally be interested in news about Christopher Reeve.

It kind of assumes that Jack had any idea who Christopher Reeve was. Considering that they seem to have this large file on everything about Jack, maybe they knew that he was a big fan of Reeve.
EDIT: and as mentioned above (written as I was writing this), he was a spinal surgeon so was probably following Reeve's case to some degree.

This did happen IRL a few weeks after they crashed there. and looking at major events of that time period on wikipedia, probably nothing much else that happened would have meant anything to Jack.

I did find it interesting that on the same day that the Red Sox won: "Details of the discovery of a new, recent, species of fossil hominid, Homo floresiensis, from the island of Flores, Indonesia are published. "

I could buy that it's in reference to Jack being a spinal surgeon, but it still strikes me a little strange though that Benry mentioned it. It would be interesting if this forshadows the Others wanting Jack because of him being a spinal surgeon.....

:)

Maybe it was a wink to Christopher Reeve playing Superman. The Others have displayed some super-human strength themselves...

I don't think it was out of place. It was a current event at the time and Christopher Reeve was a legend. It didn't really matter if Jack heard of him or not, everyone heard of it at the time.:)

As a doctor, how would Jack NOT have heard of him?

Maybe Jack's file mentioned something about him being a huge Superman fan? Or maybe Ben thought Jack, a spinal surgeon, would naturally be interested in news about Christopher Reeve.



ding ding ding

Christopher Reeve was the most famous spinal surgery story of the lst 10 years. Jack is a spilan surgeon. Very appropriate. Also note that Jack's reaction about Christopher Reeve was "eh" compared to the Red Sox.

Don

Dude- he's Superman. When he fell off his horse, it was big news. When he was directing Christmas in CT and starring in Rear Window, it was big news. When they made that bizarre commercial with him walking it was big news. His death was big news.

Well he mentioned the 69 days they've been there, so he only had a fairly short span of time frame to pull news stories from. It was a big story at the time, and most people Jacks age would know who Christopher Reeves was. I don't know what's so odd about this.

Yeah--It was October 2004, for God's sake....beyond the Boston win, G.W.'s election theft, and Christopher Reeve's death...nothing else happened! It's not like he could say "oh, yeah. There's this new TV show phenomenon. You'd like it. It's about people who crash on an island."

As a doctor, how would Jack NOT have heard of him?

As a human being over the age of 25, how would Jack NOT have heard of him?

Christopher Reeves death was one of the biggest stories from all of 2004 (not just the 69 days they've been here). I didn't find it odd at all.

There may be some additional significance to the fact that Jack, a spinal surgeon would have an occupational interest in Christopher Reeves, but even if Jack were a "repo-man", as he told Juliet, he would want to know the current events of major importance.

For the time that they've been on the island, those were the big three headlines... Bush Re-Elected, Red Sox Win, Superman Dead. I don't see how it was out of place.

It's not like he could say "oh, yeah. There's this new TV show phenomenon. You'd like it. It's about people who crash on an island."

LOL! That would be great to show up on the bloopers where he actually does say that!
69 days. Is it just me or does that seem like a very short time, that shocked me more than anything else in the epsiode that they have only been there 69 days, it seems to me it's been a lot longer, so much has happened! (and not just because the shows been on two years!) ;)

Why is that out of place? An American icon and beloved man died. It's very relevent.

I'm going with "famous guy with spinal injury", myself. That makes a lot of sense.

G.W.'s election theft

That was 2000.

I agree about the spinal injury

It may also be a hint about the research/experimentation that Hanso/DHARMA are utilizing, and the nature of what Ben is going to ask Jack to do in return for going home. Maybe even the reason that Jack is on The Island.

Christopher Reeve had been receiving state-of-the-art treatment for his disability; don't quote me, but I think it was stem-cell related.

So it possibly has much more relevance than "recent headline news" to prove to Jack that The Others have contact with the outside world.

And might be a clue to why The Others wanted to take Aaron while Claire was still pregnant with him, and (apparently) lost interest after he was born out of their presence/control.

It may also be a hint about the research/experimentation that Hanso/DHARMA are utilizing, and the nature of what Ben is going to ask Jack to do in return for going home. Maybe even the reason that Jack is on The Island.

Christopher Reeve had been receiving state-of-the-art treatment for his disability; don't quote me, but I think it was stem-cell related.

So it possibly has much more relevance than "recent headline news" to prove to Jack that The Others have contact with the outside world.

And might be a clue to why The Others wanted to take Aaron while Claire was still pregnant with him, and (apparently) lost interest after he was born out of their presence/control.


I like the "hint" angle....Reeve's passing was a major event, but Benry specifically pointing it out is more a clue for what may be going on, IMHO.

Good post TR!

:)

everyone knows and cared about christopher reeves. if i had been on a island cut off from the world, i would want to know that he died.

I can understand Benry mentioning Bush's re-election and the Red Sox finally winning the World Series to pace time on the island, but does anyone else find the Christopher Reeve mention out of place?!?

No. As others have mentioned, Jack is a doctor (which they obviously know) and I'm sure they know what kind. Christopher Reeve was very involved with the medical community with his lobbying for stem cell research. For a doctor to not know who he is would require them to keep their head buried in the sand. As famous as Jack would be for his "miracle" operation, I doubt he would fit that bill.

I do not think it was a hint about anything more than 3 major events happening in the world at that time.....

I said once before that jack was a yankee fan....that BRS sceen had me cracking up!!!!

For Jake the events are significant because they are from his area. What is suprising is the significance bhenry has placed on the events. I believe they are closer to Australia then the US. Since Bhenry has been there his whole life, you would think he is more tied to Australian culture then that of the US.

Not to mention that the game was announced by the US commentators and notthe ones that would have provided color from other English speaking contries.

This showed he had connections back "to the real world" and could take him back if ...

I can understand Benry mentioning Bush's re-election and the Red Sox finally winning the World Series to pace time on the island, but does anyone else find the Christopher Reeve mention out of place?!?

Just thought he was trying to show they had contact with the outside world.

I didn't find the reference out of place at all --

SUPERMAN'S DEAD!

It ties-in with Ben's reference to GOD not being able to see the island -- in other words no one is going to swoop out of the sky to save you.

Sadly he did die. Chris Reeve was a huge inspiration to me as he was and continues to be to many people. I didn't find it out of place or offensive or any such thing. It happened while they have been on the island, plain and simple.

I can understand Benry mentioning Bush's re-election and the Red Sox finally winning the World Series to pace time on the island, but does anyone else find the Christopher Reeve mention out of place?!?
It wasn't just to pace time; Ben picked the three most shocking things that occured during that 2 month window. Incumbant president winning the election when the odds are against him (seriously, Vegas odds were against him); Superman dying; and The Sox winning the World Series. Ben was out to impress Jack by shocking him with news he was otherwise deaf to.

not weird at all.

i truly believed, more than anything i think, that he was going to walk again before he died. his death was so sad on so many levels

Christopher Reeve? Ben was talking to a spinal surgeon.

From Tinseltown.

About an icon of courage and hope against impossible odds.

It was sort of the anti-"Red Sox Win the Series" story.

George W. back in the White House . . . interpret that as you will.

When he first mentioned Christopher Reeves, I immediately thought of Locke. Locke was paralyzed and lands on the island and isn't anymore.

I didn't find the reference out of place at all --

SUPERMAN'S DEAD!

It ties-in with Ben's reference to GOD not being able to see the island -- in other words no one is going to swoop out of the sky to save you.

besides it being completely relevant to a spinal surgeon I also see it as a nice imagery of the present situation. Jack is the superman of the island and he seems to be in quite the predicament

For Jake the events are significant because they are from his area. What is suprising is the significance bhenry has placed on the events. I believe they are closer to Australia then the US. Since Bhenry has been there his whole life, you would think he is more tied to Australian culture then that of the US.
I live in Britain, and I follow American culture more than Dutch. Proximity doesn't outweigh the size of the American media.

I live in Britain, and I follow American culture more than Dutch. Proximity doesn't outweigh the size of the American media.

plus you know the other two events he mentioned were american and the show is for an american audience, and the dharma initiative itself is ...is it american?

One thing gets me is that Ben didn't have to say 3 current events to prove his conection to the outside world, all he had to do was show the Red Sox on the video. The first thing I thought of when I heard Christopher Reeves was a movie he played in called "Somewhere in Time" (a movie where he self-hypnotis to go back in time). Doesn't this go alone with the whole Time Therory? Also didn't Ben talk in the past tense when he gave the date: Your plane crashed on Sept. 22, 2004 today is Nov 29th that means that you have been here for 69 days. Why did he say 2004?

Because if he said 2005 jack would go all crazy, or if he would have said 2003 jack also wouldn't believe him, he said 2004 simply because of the fact the plane crashed in 2004.

Good point about Locke and his paralysis, Clairerocks. While Ben might know spinal research is important to Jack, I think he picked those incidents because they would be important to himself too. (I myself, with a minor in archeology, would have been more interested in the Indonesian skeletal finds than in Chris Reeve : ). So the Christopher Reeve reference might have more significance than just the spinal injury. Or maybe not.

I think Ben was just grabbing the biggest Pop Culture references from that timeframe. Chistopher Reeve's death was a pop culture event. Also most people Jacks age would know who he was. I mean we watched Superman when we were young. :)

It's a done deal.

I think Ben was just grabbing the biggest Pop Culture references from that timeframe. Chistopher Reeve's death was a pop culture event. Also most people Jacks age would know who he was. I mean we watched Superman when we were young. :)

agreed. . . wonder if the show's writers ever come on here and crack up when they see threads like this one--poring over the most minute, throwaway lines like they are keys to the universe. the reference did not strike me as terribly meaningful; if anything, i think that it just demonstrates the amount of contact the others have with the oustide world--it would be one thing if benry just knew about the red sox and the election, but the reeve reference demonstrates a whole new level of pop culture literacy.

of course, it could also be terribly meaningful, and i'll just feel like an idiot.

I think it was a combination of "SUPERMAN IS DEAD", which is all anyone would talk about at my office, and the frustration that Reeve never got to walk again after all. I believe it was his stated goal to be standing and blowing out the candles of his cake on a future birthday. It was reference with a huge amount of psychological and historical significance to Jack both as a person and a surgeon.

For Jake the events are significant because they are from his area. What is suprising is the significance bhenry has placed on the events. I believe they are closer to Australia then the US. Since Bhenry has been there his whole life, you would think he is more tied to Australian culture then that of the US.

Agreed - and if he's been on the island all his life - then how does he even know what events anyone in the outside world would consider to be that significant? If your raised on an island in a little village, do you grow up knowing the Red Sox are cursed? I think not.