LOST: Down the Hatch | Tales from the Island, Episode 1: “Autopilot”

LOST: Down the Hatch | Tales from the Island, Episode 1: “Autopilot” Josh Wigler (@roundhoward) and Mike Bloom (@AMikeBloomType) crash land into the roles of two Oceanic 815 survivors in the first episode of LOST Down the Hatch Presents: Tales From The Island, “Autopilot.”   Over the course of Down the Hatch, Josh and Mike will periodically transform the podcast into a full-on tabletop roleplaying game, ala Dungeons and Dragons. The mystical and mysterious R Filly (@Wharfrat1625) joins them in the role of dungeon master, presiding over Josh and Mike’s myriad misadventures and playing the roles of various non-playable characters in this full-on fan-fiction flurry of events from LOST.   In “Autopilot,” we open on an eye, because of course we open on an eye — but it’s not just any eye. The eye belongs to Billy Wallace (Wigler), a one-eyed man with an axe to grind against anyone and everyone who doesn’t recognize his greatness. Among those people: Rodney “Roundhouse” Cesteau (Bloom), the hot-not-cute model type who comes to the supernatural beach with a surprising amount (and source) of island experience.   Despite the shared trauma and miracle of surviving the Oceanic 815 crash together, Billy and Rodney don’t exactly see eye to eye right away, on a few levels. But further experiences will bond their journeys together, as they come to learn they have more in common than they realize — not the least of which is their relative isolation from the greater group of survivors.   The events of “Autopilot” chronicle the first four hours of LOST, from the initial crash in the two-part “Pilot” through the memorial service of “Walkabout.” Along the way, Billy and Rodney will meet a woman dressed in stripes, an old police officer from upstate New York, a mysterious stranger in the “Forest,” a food-hoarding survivor, a surprising creature from the jungle, and more.   All of these characters collide in a fully ridiculous installment of Post Show Recaps Theater, which — it bears repeating — is outright fan fiction, and probably not for everyone. If it’s not your cup of tea, move right along to the next recap episode! If you’re a fan, however, Josh, Mike and Rich will resume Tales from the Island at an unknown point in the future. As always, send feedback to [email protected].   About Down the Hatch … LOST: Down the Hatch is a full-tilt spoiler-filled rewatch of LOST. Every week, Josh and Mike break down an episode of LOST with the benefit of knowing the series’ full trajectory, using the following structure as a guide: 4 Stories – Each podcast begins with a discussion of four main stories from the episode, both in front of and behind the camera; 8 Sounds – The events of LOST pop right off the camera and straight into your ears with eight memorable moments replayed on the podcast; 15/16 Others – Josh and Mike answer questions and comments sent their way through the official e-mail address: [email protected]; 23 Points – Each week, Josh and Mike hand out points for the best and worst characters of the episode in question, in a foolhardy attempt to determine the most and least valuable players in the LOST pantheon; 4.2 Stars – Josh and Mike will attempt to create an official Down the Hatch ranking of every episode of LOST, by rating them all on a scale from 0 – 4.2. Josh and Mike will offer their individual scores, listeners’ scores will be averaged as a third data point, then the three points will be combined for the podcast’s official score on each episode. Each episode of Down the Hatch clocks in at no less than 42 minutes. If it clocks in at longer than 108 minutes, Josh and Mike have triggered a crisis! Consequences may (and almost certainly will) ensue. Additional reading/listening/viewing from the podcast: The LOST Will and Testament (Javier Grillo-Marxuach) The Hatch: A LOST Podcast (Rosie Murphy and Sammy Roth) LOST Soundtrack Analysis – 1×04 “Walkabout” (Jim Fels) LOST: Down the Hatch – 23 Points Tracker, Week 2 (Felipe Chamon) LOST: Down the Hatch – Sawyer Nickname Tracker (Patricia Riley) Appropriate words & terminology for Aboriginal topics (Creative Spirits) More on the background Oceanic 815 survivors (Lostpedia) Previous Down the Hatch episodes: Down the Hatch Launches: In Which We Go Back Bonus Episode #1: Last Call Before the Rewatch Recap Episode #1: Season 1, Episodes 1 + 2: “Pilot, Part 1 + 2” Recap Episode #2: Season 1, Episode 3: “Tabula Rasa” Recap Episode #3: Season 1, Episode 4: “Walkabout”