Yeah, you read it right.
Why am I advising you, aerospace fans, to watch the television show “Lost” tonight on ABC?
Season four of “Lost” starts tonight on ABC
First of all, “Lost” has a lot to do with airplanes. The characters’ aircraft breaks up over the Pacific Ocean on a flight from Sydney, Australia, to L.A., leaving them stranded on an island, where things are a bit amiss.
The crashed plane? A Boeing Co. 777.
Aviation enthusiasts will love watching footage of the crash and scenes filmed inside the plane, if for no other reason than to look for inconsistencies with the real thing.
Clearly, some Boeing fans have been watching “Lost” already. If you visit Lostpedia, you’ll find a Boeing 777 entry, which includes basic data about the 777 and its safety record (new information about the 777 crash at Heathrow has been added).
A related entry explains that “Lost” uses a Lockheed L-1011 for some crash wreckage shots.
For people who don’t follow Boeing or Airbus obsessively, shows like “Lost” provide easy and entertaining access to the aerospace industry.
With the popularity of the Internet and sites like YouTube, there is a slight danger that some “Lost”-inspired info could be confused as real. For instance, if you were unfamiliar with the show or the aviation industry, you might think Oceanic Airlines is a real carrier.
Fly Oceanic Air commercial
For better or for worse, references to Boeing and Airbus and their planes can be found in movies, TV shows, books and music. (For you non-Losties out there, you should know that the island, not a flaw in the plane, brings down flight 815).
From a business perspective, a slot on a show like “Lost” equates to millions of dollars worth of advertising. More importantly, it earns the 777 a priceless place in pop culture. Think “Rain Man” and Qantas.
Qantas never crashes scene in “Rain Man”
I plan to post more television/movie allusions to Boeing and Airbus in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’d love to hear some of your favorites (or if you spot any 777 inconsistencies on “Lost”)
DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am a “Lost” fan, albeit an initially reluctant one. And, no, ABC didn’t ask me to promote shamelessly its show on this blog.
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