Yesterday evening I wrote an article about George Lucas writing a letter to the Executive Producers of LOST. However, against my better judgment I turned it into ammunition for a friendly argument Swank and I have been having about the Star Wars Prequels. In hindsight, this was not the proper forum for that and I am a big enough robot to admit when I am wrong.
Therefor, I am “redoing” this article, the way it should have been in the first place – and using a great suggestion from Budgetron.
A week ago, at the “LOST Live: The Final Celebration” event, ABC Executive Producer, Barry Jossen, stood up and read a letter that George Lucas himself wrote to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the Executive Producers of LOST. It read:
Congratulations on pulling off an amazing show. Don’t tell anyone … but when ‘Star Wars’ first came out, I didn’t know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you’ve planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories — let’s call them homages — and you’ve got a series.
In six seasons, you’ve managed to span both time and space, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I never saw what was around the corner. Now that it’s all coming to an end, it’s impressive to see how much was planned out in advance and how neatly you’ve wrapped up everything. You’ve created something really special. I’m sad that the series is ending, but I look forward to seeing what you two are going to do next.
Afterward Lindelof said, “I just want to apologize to Mr. George Lucas for everything I said about the prequels …” — drawing one of many big laughs from the hugely appreciative crowd at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
I can only imagine what this must have been like for the Executive Producers and Creators of LOST who have made no attempt to hide their love for Star Wars, littering the series with references to the beloved films since the first season. These guys are obviously big fans of at least the Original Trilogy (considering Lindelof’s tongue-in-cheek response) and it must have been something else to get a letter from George Lucas himself saying, “Hey, I like your work, too.”
So, as all of us LOST/Star Wars fans know very well by now, the show has had several references to Star Wars throughout the last six years – some more obvious than others. So Budgetron and I would like to know:
What is your favorite Star Wars reference from LOST?
Mine? It was one of the most obvious ones when Hurley explained that he was going to write The Empire Strikes Back with some adjustments and send it to George Lucas. I thought it was just great. Here is Hurley, on the Island, death and destruction around every tree, and he still thinks to himself, “Hey, I could rewrite Empire, make it better, and send it to George Lucas!”
Sound off in the comments below with your favorite Star Wars reference from LOST!