I think the reason Sawyer dressed as he did is because the exec producers can't even conceive of viewing a guy's body in prurient fashion. I've heard wardrobe choices and network censorship quoted as possible reasons, but the writer gets to tell the character what to wear, and if Burton Roberts' constant swimming footage in Survivor: Pearl Islands wasn't a problem for CBS standards & practices, I can't imagine a guy in his skivvies would be for ABC.

I think it's because they already established he goes commando and the angle problem of filming the underwater stuff would be impossible, and the underwater stuff is the whole point of the scene. I think this show does very well with the male prurience--my BF pointed out that more of the men are sweaty, tortured and/or shirtless than the women are in each episode. Not that I'm complaining AT ALL.

I don't know... despite my joking about Matthew Fox in the pilot, the only male shirtlessness I've seen that seemed there for its own sake rather than serving the plot was Sawyer doing his Aphrodite impression in "Confidence man." And I think finding the tortured bits hot is particular to our fringe rather than a mainstream thing.

And I think finding the tortured bits hot is particular to our fringe rather than a mainstream thing.

What are you trying to say?

blinks innocently

Having read several shooting scripts, I think I can say with certainty that the writers are well aware of the hotness of torturned shirtless men.

Having read several shooting scripts, I think I can say with certainty that the writers are well aware of the hotness of torturned shirtless men.

I'm all for the shirtlessness, so long as its equal opportunity. I guess I can't complian much so far.

Ooh - for anyone wondering about the number on safety deposit box/number of flight connection...I can't remember what the consensus was over here earlier, but the Safety Depoist box was indeed numbered 815. Sat and rewatched and rewatched and rewatched, and then the lovely Javi confirmed it over at the Fuselage earlier. I admit I squeed from the being right-ness. I blame the lack of sleep.

Safety Depoist box was indeed numbered 815.

I am a dork- why is this significant?

What the BF said was, that it was clearly very hot there and that all the men were often either shirtless or in wifebeaters, but that the women were often all buttoned up (Sun) or in the case of Shannon, wearing shawls and cover-y things more often than the guys. According to him many chances to have women in bikinis ir the tiny shorts and scarf-wear favored by chicks on Survivor have been passed up, tragically.

Ooh! I totally missed that. (Nora, 815 was also the filght number.)

Of course, this being JJ, it was probably there just to make viewers go "OOOH!" and will never be mentioned again.

they already established he goes commando

OH. Good point.

Although my reaction was "Come on, we've already seen his ass". Because he is so the skinny-dipping type.