The Lost World

In 2002, the syndicated adventure series Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's the Lost World was cancelled, despite encouraging reports to the creators, who had already created plans for the show's next season.

Later, the creators revealed some of their plans for the cancelled season 4 at a fan convention, plans that were later released online in pdf form.

The series concerned a group of 19th century explorers discovering a plateau in the Amazon that seems untouched by time, but is also filled with people, animals and events that were anachronisms both to the preserved Prehistoric period and the 19th century and often reached into the realm of the supernatural- including Neanderthal tribes, dinosaurs of various periods, lizard men and incidents of time travel. The series ran for three seasons, developing something of a mytharc in the third season.

In 2004, the smash hit series Lost, with its scenario of a group of people stranded on a seemingly uninhabited island filled with details that are similarly bizarre and out of place- a polar bear, a slave ship, and mysterious happenings.

What would the two have to do with each other aside from some superficial plot similarities? Here are a few select bits from the above linked document with elaboration on the similarities:

The truth is that the Plateau is not a collector of life, it is the source of everything....it is related to what Marguerite called the two fundamental forces of creation In Lost, the heart of the Island is considered by a character to be "[the source of] Life, death, rebirth."

It is related to what Marguerite called the two fundamental forces of creation. She called them good and evil. Challenger would come to see them as order and chaos As Locke described early in the series, ""Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark.", a quote which resonated later in the series with the conflict between Jacob and the Man in Black.

The important thing is what the line of Protectors know: The Plateau is a powerful force of creation.... So, the line of Protectors—who dwell in a place out of time... Jacob tells the others near the end of season 6 "There's a light at the center of the Island. You have to make sure it never goes out. That's how you protect it. "

The line of Mordren wants to usurp that power for themselves, so that the positive power of the Plateau will benefit only them, leaving its des- tructive aspect to lay waste to all those who oppose them Mordren can be seen the as the equivalent of the Man in Black, who, in a somewhat less malevolent goal, simply wishes to leave the Island.

The power of creation is being fought over by the forces of good and forces of evil, represented by Veronica and Mordren.....For either side to win, they need help.....When the time approaches for the Plateau to cycle through another act of creation, the players assemble...instead of letting the key players be scattered and hidden across the globe, they could be brought to the Plateau Through the entire series, Jacob and the Man in Black play their game using the survivors, whom Jacob claims he selected because "they needed this place".

Xan sent Maple White. Maple White told Challenger. Challenger launched an expedition... Think of it as a chain of dominos falling in a circle, just like the snake that eats its own tail Similar to the series of coincidences, and overlapping events that led to many of the survivors getting onto Oceanic flight 815.

Of course, none of this is exactly conclusive, especially since the linked document wasn't posted online until 2005, when Lost began in 2004, and the two series didn't share any significant cast or crew.

But still....

Did anyone else think the episode "Across the Sea" felt a bit like something from a 90's adventure series?