In Beetlejuice, we knew that the main characters were dead, and there was still some tension in the story. This is perhaps a bad example because the film is not good.

I don't know about "not good," It was pretty much what it meant to be. A lightweight, "lets have fun withthe afterlife" kind of movie. It's not fantastic, but I'd still put it on the "good" side of the good/bad divide.

::Shrug::

P-C, I had a different interpretation of the look Locke gave Michael and Walt at the end of the episode where Walt is reunited with his dog.

Locke specifically put into motion the events so that Michael would look like a hero to Walt. I thought the foreboding music was to indicate that Locke enjoyed having some control over people and being the "go to" guy. This was a nice setup because it led into "Walkabout" which showed a different side to him.

Now I see Locke as more vulnerable and needing to prove himself. Given "Walkabout" I now take his look to Michael and Walt as his thoughtful reflection about his ability to walk around at all to find the dog. I think Michael and Walt's interactions were not really the focus of his attention.

FWIW, I was entertained by the movie, but I just don't think it's that good. No offense meant to fans.

Also, Locke went after the boar with no regard to Michael's injury.

I see that in hindsight as him evaluating that Kate was doing OK, and being a bit single-minded.

He has spent four years, since becoming wheelchair bound, preparing for the walkabout he was not allowed to do. He was ready to do a lot of things necessary for doing the walkabout in a wheelchair. Suddenly removing that burdon and having the training, he needed to see if he could do what others have told him he could not.

being a bit single-minded.

This is my point. He can be very single-minded, and I think that's what's going to get him in trouble.

I'm kicking myself now for not taping Lost from the beginning. There's too much stuff that needs to be double-checked!

I like the wish-fulfillment theory of the island, but some things I can't reconcile with it. Sun seems not to be happy with her marriage. If the island were fulfilling her wishes, I think Jin would be dead. Everyone's wish is to be rescued - the island isn't going to fulfill that one. And, if the island gives people what they want, why did it (or its avatar the Not-Dinosaur) kill the pilot?

Also, do we know that Michael is Walt's father? Has the kid called him Dad at all? Maybe he's Walt's older brother, or his uncle, or something. Anyway, what is Michael wishing for? I'd guess, either to be a good father (figure) or not to be saddled with the kid. I haven't seen any sign of either one being fulfilled. Or of any wishes from Michael at all.

One thing I see that all the survivors have in common is that they didn't want to go wherever they were going. Jack had to go back and deal with his awful family and his father's funeral. Kate was going to trial and probably jail. Maybe Sun didn't want to go to the States and/or continue her loveless marriage. Maybe Claire didn't want to be a single parent, and the closer the baby's birthday comes, the closer she gets to going someplace she doesn't want to go - single motherhood. (However, she doesn't want to lose the baby, obviously.) Talk about a village - she'll have 45 people helping her when this baby comes. Well, 44. Shannon doesn't seem like the babysitter type. I don't know what the otehrs might have wanted to avoid, but there's enough tension there to think they could've had some unpleasantness coming at them. Hurley's the only one who seems to have no dark secrets. (I love Hurley.) Getting crash-landed on an island with little hope of rescue is a guilt-free way of never having to go home and face the thing you most want to avoid. (I may be thinking this because I recently had to go back home and deal with something I really really wanted to avoid, and for a while there, "stranded on a remote island" was looking like a pretty good alternative.)

Damn, I didn't even expect to LIKE this show, much less be analyzing it to death.

(edited to clarify, though you probably can't tell.)

Ashtareth, you have spoilers in your post that need to be whitefonted. (the stuff about Sun .)

Also, do we know that Michael is Walt's father? Has the kid called him Dad at all?

Yes. He has said so.

And, if the island gives people what they want, why did it (or its avatar the Not-Dinosaur) kill the pilot?

What if the pilot was near death/going to die soon anyway? Maybe he was in a lot of pain and secretly preferred death?

In "Walkabout", Walt called Michael, "Dad" - but what I noticed is that Michael seemed a bit surprised by it. At least IMO.

It was said in the show that Michael was not a part of Walt's life until two weeks before the flight. Walt was living in Sydney with his mother, who just died. I think that is where the suprise came in.

Also, do we know that Michael is Walt's father? Has the kid called him Dad at all?

He has, and even if he's not, Dan Kwa's Good Dad score sheet is still hysterical.