Just a few quick programming notes before we delve into Sawyer's boar troubles in "Outlaws," the next episode in the "We Have to Go Back" series. I know, I know, you Lost fans are all aching for hot boar action, but it'll just have to wait a day or so. I'm pretty sure y'all will survive. And by the end of the week, we'll finally get to "Numbers," an episode I can't wait to revisit. After that? Ice cream for everyone!

But in the meantime...

1) The Group

Most of you are already aware of this, but I'm tossing this out there officially at last: I've established a Facebook group for Zap2It's Guide to Lost. It's grown to thirty-three times its initial size in just the first week! Course, I'm counting my sole self as the group's initial membership, and we're only at thirty-three members now, but whatever...the math holds up!

I'm going to ask you guys to help double that group size in the next week, getting us up to 66 members by the time August rolls around. Sure, it's ambitious, but pales in comparison to establishing a series of hatches on a hidden Island inhabited by a smoke monster and angry natives. If everyone pulls in one friends, we're golden. It's like a pyramid scheme made of 100% pure win.

"But Ryan," you say, "I'm too old for Facebook!" No way. Once my Dad joined, I'm pretty sure he lowered the bar for everyone. "But Ryan," you say, "Social networking is dorky." To which I say, "You're reading a blog about Lost. Look in the mirror and get back to me about dorkdom." "But Ryan," you say, "If I give Facebook all my info, the government will put me into a database and track me until my dying day." To which I say, "This sadly is true, but a small price to pay to allow your friends to zombie attack you."

Now, you should obviously keep this site bookmarked as well, but I think this group will allow for a few things the blog itself won't. One of those elements is already in the works: a book club started by my very own wife. First up?  We'll, go see for yourself. While this site works from the top down, the Facebook group will work from the bottom up. I'm hoping the two will work in concert and give all involved a better overall Lost experience and Zap2It experience. Building community is what it's about in both cases, and I think both can work symbiotically towards that goal.

2) The Game

Again, not major news to many of you, but we're about to get a newly launched alternate realty game (ARG) coming our way. This is what I believe to be the third officially-approved ARG of its kind: the first being The Lost Experience, the second Find 815.

A commercial for this game aired during the finale of Season 4.

If you signed up at the site, you've received periodic emails which stated that something, though no one knew quite what, would go down at Comic Con. And guess what? Comic Con's this week, which means the ARG launches in full. Now, my love-hate relationship with these ARGs is well documented here. It's like Corey Flood's relationship to Joe in Say Anything. I've analyzed, dissected, and made bold proclamations about Lost based on these ARGs, only to have the powers that be essentially give me a wedgie and hang me from the pole in the middle of the high school parking lot.

That being said: we'll be coming back for more this time around, both participating in and commenting on the as-yet-untitled ARG. Will we one again see Rachel Blake? Sam Thomas? Hard to say. But with any luck, the protagonist in this particular installment will be a sailor named Naught Cannon who will run around screaming, "Sometimes an octagon is simply an octagon." (Yes, yes, I'll stop now.)

What's incredibly interesting to me about this particular game is that it can actually take place concurrently with the timeline in the show. Previous ARGs have always had a bizarre dissonance in that they featured events happening more or less synchronically with the player's timeline but after the timeline of the show. With the Oceanic 6 firmly planted in 2008, the stakes of the game have changed significantly.

My hope? That Octagon is the fruits of the meeting between Sun and Widmore in the season finale, with their might and monetary muscle driving this particular endeavor. Again, total guess with no insider info to back that up, but it's the first thing that popped into mind when I saw the ad back in May.

What do you think will happen this time around in the ARG? And what would you like to see over on the Facebook page?

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.

Comments

Yay! I'm #34. Good luck with the new endeavor, Ryan.

Morgan | Jul 20, 2008 5:30:03 PM | #

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As long as there's no Rachel Blake, I'm sure this'll be a great ARG. I'm hoping for more in-depth DHARMA backstory. And I don't want the boring current-day corporate boardroom drama stuff; I want old-school 1970s hippies and finally something about the DeGroot/Hanso relationship.

If it does have to be present-day, I hope we truly are talking about the re-establishment and startup of the DHARMA Initiative and its return to the Island.

JeffC | Jul 20, 2008 6:22:56 PM | #

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I'm not trying to step on any toes or steal any of your thunder Ryan, but I'd like to think I had a small hand in the creation of the Facebook group after starting the discussion about it here a week ago. I agree that it will be a great companion to this blog.

I never played the 'Lost Experience', but I played 'Find 815' and thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly liked all the hidden messages and pictures to be found within it. That being said, I was quite annoyed when I learned it was all ***-***** (I won't say the words, because I know they are forbidden here). Hopefully this one will be more of a supplement story to the main storyline, instead of a stand-alone. Anyways, here's hoping

Shaggysteve | Jul 20, 2008 7:27:40 PM | #

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"Hot boar action."

Would that be Al Gore doing a striptease...or would that be "hot bore action?" Just askin'...:P

Dark Disciple | Jul 20, 2008 7:42:59 PM | #

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I liked the 2nd ARG much better than the first. The first was for the really really hardcores, who would scour all the ABC affiliate websites and blogs and then congregate at message boards to reveal their findings. While the sheer scope of the viral campaign was truly impressive, it was impossible follow if you're a casual gamer.

That's why I prefered last year's ARG. Everything was restricted to pretty much one main website and everything you needed was on that site. Definitely more my speed.

JeffC | Jul 21, 2008 6:08:45 AM | #

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I've never played an ARG game. I used to play a little battleship type game here on the Zap2it forums about LOST.

The only people I know on Facebook are my Son, My twenty something step children, and my step nieces. I have asked all of them to be my friends and now feel like the worlds biggest dork.
I still cannot get onto Facebook from work so, I sneak in some PC time at home to play there when I can.

How does one play an ARG?

Chris | Jul 21, 2008 6:46:11 AM | #

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http://www.explosm.net/db/files/Comics/Kris/new.png

Blue Sean | Jul 21, 2008 8:00:49 AM | #

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There's no one way to "play" an ARG. I tend to be a passive spectator, allowing others to do the heavy lifting. If I had more time, more resources, and more hackery skillz, I'd be more active, but there's nothing wrong with following along and making your own conjectures along the way. That's pretty much what I'll be doing here during the course of the ARG.

Ryan | Jul 21, 2008 9:16:54 AM | #

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I don't have tons of ARG experience, but these things usually start with a website that ABC surreptitiously advertises during an episode of the show. This year it's

http://www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com/

The game itself is usually launched at ComiCon and soon after people will receive word as to how to start the game. So that bored computer geeks can't finish the game within a couple of hours, it is doled out in pieces and when you finish each piece and receive your clue to continue you may have to wait for a few hours/days until the next step is available. What these pieces contain can be a number of things but the one from last year (Find 815)involved a lot of puzzles. I didn't play The Lost Experience so I can't speak to that but I believe there were a lot of video clips in that one.

They can be a lot of fun or very frustrating depending on whom you speak with. :)

Hope that helps, Chris!

Diana | Jul 21, 2008 9:59:55 AM | #

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Ryan. Did the facebook membership grow every 108 minutes from 4 to 8 to 15 to 16 to 23 to 42?

Harry | Jul 21, 2008 11:26:22 AM | #

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Sure seems like it, huh? I thought it would take 2 weeks to double the group, and we might get there in 24 hours. Pretty sweet.

Ryan | Jul 21, 2008 11:46:15 AM | #

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The Lost Experience was more than just video clips. That portion was really just within the last month of the game. Before that, there were multiple blogs with secret back doors, official and unofficial in-game websites, viral advertising campaigns with Sprite and Jeep, real-life appearences (such as the Apollo Bar giveaway), the Comic-Con interruption by Rachel Blake, a segment on Jimmy Kimmel, instant message conversations... not to mention a whole bunch of false leads and people reading too much into the wrong things.

It really was an "experience", but it was way too big and detailed for any one person to follow.

JeffC | Jul 21, 2008 1:45:56 PM | #

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Yeah, I barely have time to check this blog during the day. I won't be playing the new ARG. I can follow along like Ryan said. Thanks for all your answers. :-)

Chris | Jul 21, 2008 2:10:49 PM | #

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This is off topic, but does anyone know exactly when and on what network LOST will appear in syndicated repeats?

I've heard both the G4 and Sci-Fi channel will be the first to carry Lost from the very first episode.

Which is correct and when will syndication begin?

Doug | Jul 21, 2008 4:07:43 PM | #

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I am a long time lurker, have only commented a couple of times. I have now joined the family on Facebook. Thanks, Ryan, for all your wisdom!

Carrie | Jul 21, 2008 4:08:10 PM | #

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Doug-

Both are correct. However, SciFi Channel will be running it strictly as a 4 hour block each week (I believe on Mondays), then G4 will have weekend rights (much like it does for 'Heroes' now) and may also air it daily.

Shaggysteve | Jul 21, 2008 4:35:51 PM | #

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Syndication will begin in the Fall. Probably September or October.

Shaggysteve | Jul 21, 2008 4:37:38 PM | #

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Syndication will begin in the Fall. Probably September or October.

Also, G4 will air an interactive version of each episode (much like they do for Cops and Star Trek currently) which will give additional info and allow you to chat live with others watching the show.

Shaggysteve | Jul 21, 2008 4:44:56 PM | #

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