A A A

Lost: Nerd Winks

The nerdiest winks in Lost history.


I maintain that there are two kinds of Lost fan out there - regular people and nerds. Your average Joe watches unphased when Charlie makes a Hobbit joke or we catch a glimpse of Hurley reading a critically acclaimed comic book (in Spanish) while waiting to board another Island bound airplane. For us nerds however, watching Lost is a different experience entirely. Our hearts skip a beat when we see Jack pick up little Aaron's Millenium Falcon off the floor or the lovely Charlotte makes a Klingon joke. It's these moments that titilate and tantalize our nerd sensibilities, sending us into a tizzy of snorts and giggles (I'm not saying all nerds snort, but I myself do from time to time). Here's a look at some of Lost's assorted geeky nudges to the nerd communuity at large. Special thanks to Lost-Media and Lostpedia.

by Hilary Rothing

Star Trek: Kirk and Red Shirts
Star Trek: Kirk and Red Shirts

Star Trek: Kirk and Red Shirts

Referenced in: "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" (Season 1 Episode 11)

The man Sawyer referred to as "Metro" never struck me as much of nerd. But Boone apparently saw enough Star Trek TOS episodes in between plucking his eyebrows and trying to get in his step-sister's pants to have the good sense to know that red shirts are dead shirts, as he explains to John Locke. So dude, why were you carrying one around?

Locke claims he never really watched Star Trek, which I find hard to believe coming from a guy who likes to play "Axis & Allies" in the break room at work, and then says Kirk sounds like a "piss-poor captain." Ha, ha, Lost writers! Yes, we nerds know that Terry O'Quinn played Admiral Eric Pressman in an episode of Star Trek: TNG, who was once a piss-poor captain himself! Wink, Wink!

Star Wars: The Wookie Prisoner Gag
Star Wars: The Wookie Prisoner Gag

Star Wars: The Wookie Prisoner Gag

Referenced in: "Not in Portland" (Season 3 Episode 7)

In an attempt to rescue the Island's very own Luke Skywalker, Alex's whiny boyfriend Karl, Kate decides to go with a move straight out of the Rebel Alliance playbook - the ole Wookie prisoner gag. And it seems in both Lost and Star Wars the number 23 means trouble. Leia was held in Detention Block AA 23 and Karl was strapped to a chair in Room 23, where in a Clockwork Orange-esque fashion, he was forced to watch what looks like a bad industrial rock music video (play the clip backwards to hear a woman say "Only fools are enslaved by time and space"). As for the rescue attempt, in "A New Hope" the trick landed our heroes in a trash compactor. On the Island, it got them stuck with Karl. What's a worse fate? You decide.

Y: The Last Man or Y, El Último Hombre
Y: The Last Man or "Y, El Último Hombre"

Y: The Last Man or "Y, El Último Hombre"

Referenced in: "316" (Season 5 Episode 6)

It's said that Hurley represents the audience - and the audience is a bunch of nerds. At least those viewers who were tickled by the appearance of Lost scribe and comic book visionary Brian K. Vaugahn's "Y: The Last Man," in Spanish no less. Like the last time he boarded an ill-fated flight, Hugo is again reading a comic book in Espanol, the cover of which is taken from issue 15 of the series, while he's waiting to board flight 316, at gate 15. Viva los numeros!

Green Lantern/Flash: Faster Friends Comic
Green Lantern/Flash: Faster Friends Comic

Green Lantern/Flash: Faster Friends Comic

Referenced in several episodes including "Exodus Part 2" (Season 1 Episode 24)

Fat nerd brings a copy of the Green Lantern and Flash comic in Spanish aboard plane to Los Angeles. Plane crashes on bizarre island. Young, disobdient boy finds comic book in wreckage. Jackass father throws comic book in fire. Boy is attacked by polar bear. Polar bear appeared in comic book. Takeaway: Do not bring Spanish translations of comic books aboard international flights and/or burn them. The plane will crash and a polar bear attack will ensue. You have been warned.

Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings

Lord of the Rings

Referenced in "Further Instructions" (Season 3 Episode 3)

After the explosion of the Swan leaves Locke literally speechless, Charlie teases him about trying to talk to a tree - "Trees? Yeah, I've heard they're wonderful conversationalists," (A nudge to LOTR fans who remember Monaghan's character Merry conversing with Ents, ya know the giant talking trees?) If Locke was capable of speaking, we're sure he'd have said, "shut-up you heroin junkie hobbit!"

See More: World of Tomorrow | Lost | Star Trek | Admiral Eric Pressman | Alix and Allies | Boone | Brian K. Vaughan | Captain Kirk | Charlie | Defender of the Universe | Dention Block AA 23 | Dominic Monaghan | Driveshaft | Ents | Francois Chau | Frankenstein | Greg Grun | Harry Potter | Hoth | Hurley | jin | Karl | Locke | Lord of the Rings | Luke Skywalker | Merry | nerd | Oceanic | Power Rangers | Red Shirt | Sawyer | Sayid | Star Wars | Terry O'Quinn | The Empire Strikes Back | The Green Latern and Flash. comic book | Voltron | WALT!!!! | wookie | Y: The Last Man