A memory floated out of the recesses of my brain earlier today...one of the exercises that exchange students did in a workshop before going overseas was a sort of team-building. We got a list of 25 or so people w/various attributes & had to decide which six we would want on our team & why (the setting was a deserted island & we were to plan to rebuild a civilization).

So here we have a list of beloved (or not so beloved) characters that we've had a chance to get to know. The Lostaways have split into Team Locke & Team Jack. If you were part of the group, which team would you choose & why? If there was an option to set up a third team, who do you think would be the leader & why, & who would be on that team? And if you could pick five people from all of the island inhabitants to make up your own team, who would they be & why? (This isn't to decide who & how to rebuild a civilization, but using LOST's context.)

Discuss among ourselves...

Okay, right off the bat, the choices of Jack or John as team leaders are questionable.

To rebuild civilization, I would first look for genetic strengths for child bearing. That would be the right combination of intelligence, wit and physical attributes. On Lost, survival and sanity are more important.

That would probably be Jack for the men with Sayid close behind, or even neck and neck.

The women are much more difficult. For the most part, in order to make them movielicious, the women are far too skinny and hair brained to be much for survival OR child bearing to rebuild a civilization.

So just to be the first responder to your discussion, I pick Jack, Sayid, Anna Lucia, of course, my favorite wacko French woman (you knew that was coming, right) who is a proven survivor and hunter as well as her daughter, who knows the island. Add Desmond for his sailing ability if escape from the island ever requires that.

hmmmm. Got to think a bit more about the women.

I wasn't explicit enough in my original posting: I was thinking of the questions in terms of what we'd do if we were in the Lostaways' situation.

However, pagecarl, if we're thinking that we're going to be on the island for a loooong time, we would definitely need to choose all of the women of childbearing age, hairbrained & movielicious or not. At this point, though, there aren't that many women left (of course, there may be lots in the madding crowd behind the headliners). But of the characters we know, there's Kate, Claire, Sun, Juliet, & Alex. As hot as Danielle is , she's got to be approaching if not beyond childbearing age. Rose is definitely beyond that. Am I forgetting any women? Of the men, as much of a pain in the patootie & potential loose cannon as Jack is, he's the only doc around, so he's a keeper. I'd prefer Sayid as the actual leader, though. Locke's assets (hunting & tracking skills) are outweighed by his defects (monomania/megalomania). I think Ben would always be a troublemaker, so he's gone. Bernard, while a crack shot, is older, so he'd be on the bubble. Most of the rest of the guys appear to be well-versed in handling guns, so picking among them would be a crapshoot . Jin would probably be a keeper in terms of genetic diversity.

However, as this particular island doesn't seem to allow for human procreation, the whole idea of rebuilding a civilization is rather moot.

I need to think more on my questions...what would I do if I were a Lostaway?

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Originally posted by Alaïs_Longthought:
I wasn't explicit enough in my original posting: I was thinking of the questions in terms of what we'd do if we were in the Lostaways' situation.

However, pagecarl, if we're thinking that we're going to be on the island for a loooong time, we would definitely need to choose all of the women of childbearing age, hairbrained & movielicious or not. At this point, though, there aren't that many women left (of course, there may be lots in the madding crowd behind the headliners). But of the characters we know, there's Kate, Claire, Sun, Juliet, & Alex. As hot as Danielle is , she's got to be approaching if not beyond childbearing age. Rose is definitely beyond that. Am I forgetting any women? Of the men, as much of a pain in the patootie & potential loose cannon as Jack is, he's the only doc around, so he's a keeper. I'd prefer Sayid as the actual leader, though. Locke's assets (hunting & tracking skills) are outweighed by his defects (monomania/megalomania). I think Ben would always be a troublemaker, so he's gone. Bernard, while a crack shot, is older, so he'd be on the bubble. Most of the rest of the guys appear to be well-versed in handling guns, so picking among them would be a crapshoot . Jin would probably be a keeper in terms of genetic diversity.

However, as this particular island doesn't seem to allow for human procreation, the whole idea of rebuilding a civilization is rather moot.

I need to think more on my questions...what would I do if I were a Lostaway?

Really, you were nearly exactly on track with me. Danielle was a replacement for John in hunting and tracking for the exact reasons you state about John. I would not choose Kate, never, not ever, because she throws excessive drama into the equation. That would form a split among the men which would be damaging to the group dynamics.

Now, if you so choose, the question of what would we all have done if we were Losties is another interesting one. It was in many ways answered by many people in Season 1. It would be interesting what other answers might be forthcoming now.

I would choose Sayid to lead "Team Locke", mainly because Locke's primary objective is not keeping the losties safe, but rather pursuing his own fate on the island. Sayid does a great job of pulling the truth out of people, not just by torturing but by using hidden clues and tips that most people overlook. I would also consider him one of the most intelligent people on the island. His military background would also be a plus. Kate would definitely have to stay out, especially given her recent actions (taking the phone, what the hell!?)

Well, I haven't thought as long as I usually do , but seeing as how if I had to choose Team Locke or Team Jack, I wouldn't have much time to think about it anyway, here's my answer to:

1) If you were part of the group, which team would you choose & why?

Team Jack. I have a real antipathy to Locke, so if he's leading a team, I don't want to be on it. He's pursuing his vision of what he believes the island wants & assumes that his vision is the best for everyone. I also dislike the way that he casually beat the crap out of Charlie, & how he manipulated Sawyer into killing Cooper for him, then took credit for it w/Ben & the Others. Locke is a loose cannon. Additionally, if Ben the Master Manipulator is on the team, that makes me go in the opposite direction.

2) If there was an option to set up a third team, who do you think would be the leader & why, & who would be on that team?

I think a third team co-led by Sayid & Desmond would be a better choice than either Team Locke or Team Jack. Both Sayid & Des seem to be more level-headed than either Locke or Jack, & they seem to have more of a conscience. They also have many of the survival skills that Locke has. It would be interesting to see if Sawyer would have joined this team rather than going w/Locke; I suppose it would depend on his motivation for joining Team Locke in the first place. Did Sawyer go that way because he understands that he was rolled by Locke & is planning revenge? Or because he feels that he's put himself totally beyond the pale & isn't worthy to stay w/Kate? As far as any of the other main characters joining Team Sayid/Desmond, I have the feeling that Jin might want to, but that Sun would prefer to stay w/Jack & Juliet for the medical care, & Jin would acquiesce. I think everyone else would stay w/Jack.

3) And if you could pick five people from all of the island inhabitants to make up your own team, who would they be & why?

Sayid & Desmond, for the above-mentioned reasons. After that it gets tricky, because many people come as part of a pair or set. Danielle would be great due to her survival skills, & Alex would be fine, but that means Karl too, which shoots my five. Or Sun, because of her knowledge of plants, & Jin's fine too because of his military & martial arts skills. That would leave one slot open that I'd like to fill w/a medical person. I think I'd opt for Juliet over Jack at this point—one, it evens the no. of women & men; two, even though Jack's overall medical skills are probably superior to Juliet's, Jack's increasing instability & probable difficulty in getting along w/Sayid & Desmond would add way too much drama to make a team successful.

I may change my mind after more thought...

By the by, wouldn't it be great if Lassie showed up to be a "friend" for Vincent? Then you'd have a male dog character, played by a female dog actress, hooking up w/a female dog character, played by a male dog actor. Didn't Shakespeare do something w/this idea?

quote:

So here we have a list of beloved (or not so beloved) The Lostaways have split into Team Locke & Team Jack. If you were part of the group, which team would you choose & why? If there was an option to set up a third team, who do you think would be the leader & why, & who would be on that team? And if you could pick five people from all of the island inhabitants to make up your own team, who would they be & why? (This isn't to decide who & how to rebuild a civilization, but using LOST's context.)

Discuss among ourselves...

I wouldn't follow either Jack or Locke, I don't like either of them and I don't trust their judgment. But I'd stick with Hurley and Danielle so I'd be in the Locke group.

Third Team: My guess is that Sayid, fed up with the two nitwits in charge now, will strike off on his own and will be joined by everyone else.

My Team: Hurley, Danielle, Sayid, Desmond and I'd keep Ben around because he knows more than I do and eventually he's going to share that information.