Post by Forever Xena on Oct 13, 2005 5:30:57 GMT -6
UM reference not 'Lost' on viewers
ANN ARBOR
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
ANN ARBOR - The University of Michigan has a new role in the plot of an Emmy-winning television drama.
On last Wednesday's episode, "Lost" characters learned that two Michigan doctoral candidates started a communal research compound on the island in 1970. Called the Dharma Initiative, it was a place for experiments in various areas, including meteorology, parapsychology, electromagnetism and zoology.
Due to some incident at a research station, a numeric code must be entered into an old computer every 108 minutes - perhaps to save the world.
The code is 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 - which adds up to 108.
The shows creators won't say why they picked Michigan.
"They don't want to actually explain what they're doing," said ABC spokesman Jeff Fordis.
Michigan officials weren't surprised by the reference.
"It's not a total surprise because we're known for our research," said Laura Lessnau, associate director of U-M News Service.
Alumni Gary Kapanowski said Michigan is an ideal choice for the theme.
"There was a lot of radical stuff going on in the '70s at UM," said Kapanowski, 37, who's secretary of the University of Michigan Club of Greater Detroit. "It would either be us or Berkeley."
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ANN ARBOR
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
ANN ARBOR - The University of Michigan has a new role in the plot of an Emmy-winning television drama.
On last Wednesday's episode, "Lost" characters learned that two Michigan doctoral candidates started a communal research compound on the island in 1970. Called the Dharma Initiative, it was a place for experiments in various areas, including meteorology, parapsychology, electromagnetism and zoology.
Due to some incident at a research station, a numeric code must be entered into an old computer every 108 minutes - perhaps to save the world.
The code is 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 - which adds up to 108.
The shows creators won't say why they picked Michigan.
"They don't want to actually explain what they're doing," said ABC spokesman Jeff Fordis.
Michigan officials weren't surprised by the reference.
"It's not a total surprise because we're known for our research," said Laura Lessnau, associate director of U-M News Service.
Alumni Gary Kapanowski said Michigan is an ideal choice for the theme.
"There was a lot of radical stuff going on in the '70s at UM," said Kapanowski, 37, who's secretary of the University of Michigan Club of Greater Detroit. "It would either be us or Berkeley."
***