Those accursed numbers

Will we ever find out what those numbers mean on Lost? Maybe, maybe not.

Those mysterious numbers on Lost (4 8 15 16 23 42) may be a McGuffin, according to series creator Damon Lindelof.

"I think that that question will never, ever be answered. I couldn't possibly imagine (how we would answer that question)," he said on tvguide.com.

"We will see more ramifications of the numbers and more usage of the numbers, but it boggles my mind when people ask me, 'What do the numbers mean?' "

While the meaning of the numbers will never be known, co-creator Carlton Cruse and Lindelof do promise to reveal the reason the plane crashed.

"We're saving that for later (this season)," said Cruse.

I'm not sure that MacGuffin is the right word here, since the numbers aren't really a big driver of the plot. They're background, maybe a red herring, at least so far. It seems like they must mean something, but who knows? I just don't think that's the right word here. What do you think - am I being overly pedantic? And what do you think the numbers mean?

By the way, the Wikipedia entry that I linked for "MacGuffin" says that for Lost, "the mysterious creature and the island's power can be considered MacGuffins". No word on the numbers, though. For what it's worth.

And as an added bonus, today's new-look Chron has an article on Jorge Garcia, the man behind the numbers-obsessed character Hurley. Check it out.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on November 19, 2005 to TV and movies | TrackBack