Lost party like it's 1999

January 25, 2010 9:22 AM

I'm hosting a LOST viewing party for the premiere. I need some ideas to make it fun, welcoming.

This will be for undergrads, total budget $100, with my time worth $20/hr. I currently have two ideas: Dharma Initiative (DI) wrappers on coke cans and Dead Character Bingo cards.

No alcohol allowed, and coke drinking games might be a bad idea. Can you guys think of any cool things to add to the mix? The low-hanging fruit is maybe ideas of particularly easy-to-fashion DI snacks. Thanks!

posted by tintexas to Media & Arts (21 answers total)

Best answer: I was going to suggest mini airplane bottles of booze, but no drinking, I see.

Yeah, Coke cans with Dharma labels (easy black and white laser printing, even). Pringles cans. Cans of mixed nuts. Any snack in a nice easy-to-cover square box, like Ritz crackers.

Apollo brand chocolate bars. Some really slimy looking sea urchin sashimi.

A stuffed polar bear to throw at unsuspecting people.

And remember, smoke machines are rentable.
posted by rokusan at 9:30 AM on January 25, 2010

Best answer: Tarp up the ceilings and walls to look like the survivors' tents, put up some branches to look like tent struts, get some fake (or real) palm fronds. If it's a small room, you could even CAREFULLY tarp up the floor and lay down an inch of sand. If you have a strong shop vac, you can probably vacuum up the sand afterwards.

If there are enough people, lottery out the main characters so everyone comes in costume/character. Or just have people come in character as whoever they want and don't worry about repeats (heck, given the "time slipping", it makes sense that there would be more than one of any given character).

Dharma initiative food is a good idea.

There are more small arms on that little island than there are in downtown Miami, so maybe get some nerf pistols/rifles etc? Could liven up the commercial breaks.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 9:31 AM on January 25, 2010

Best answer: Pin the tail section on the Oceanic plane
Decorate your own DI patches
Guess Richard Alpert's age (note, there may or may not ever be an answer to this)
Mittelos Bioscience cupcakes
Contest for best Ben Linus impression
Of course a Namaste, New Recruits banner
re-create the 1977 recruit photo
"Put these events in order" time travel trivia game
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:36 AM on January 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: A huge amount of Dharma labels PDFs here.
posted by sharkfu at 9:38 AM on January 25, 2010 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Oh yeah, you'll need flower wreaths to put around the necks of arriving recruits :)
posted by Salvor Hardin at 9:40 AM on January 25, 2010 [2 favorites]

Make your own *magic box*
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:42 AM on January 25, 2010

And, if your guests haven't seen the chronological reorganization of Lost a la "24", then you should show it.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 9:42 AM on January 25, 2010

Maybe get some small, cheap, themed prizes (leis, tiny plastic planes like Kate's, chocolate bars wrapped in the Dharma labels sharkfu already linked, etc.) and put them in a basket. Before the show starts, have every guest come up with one unique prediction for what's going to happen in the episode, and write them all on a big sheet of posterboard. If they get it right, they get to choose a prize from the basket.
posted by Gianna at 10:26 AM on January 25, 2010

Maybe you could make a mix of the music from Lost... Say, Geranimo Jackson, Mamas and Papas, and Driveshaft.
posted by drezdn at 10:30 AM on January 25, 2010 [2 favorites]

Your budget probably doesn't allow for the sourcing or making of fish biscuits, but maybe a couple bags of goldfish crackers with the Dharma logo on them would do as a substitute?
posted by pdb at 10:43 AM on January 25, 2010

Response by poster: I like: leis and banner, themed cupcakes, pdfs for labels, smoke machine (probably outside the theater door), cheap DI patches. These are students, so I don't expect them to come at all early or stay late; things need to be give and go.

A way to provide caricatured costumes for them would be great. Are there cheap 1 or 2-item ways to represent a character? Can you think of another way to make a joke about the different timelines?
posted by tintexas at 11:19 AM on January 25, 2010

Best answer: Are there cheap 1 or 2-item ways to represent a character?

Off the top of my head:

Sayid - toy gun
Jack - stethoscope
Kate - toy plane
Hurley - ranch sauce/fried chicken
Michael - sketch pad
Walt - stuffed bird
Mr. Eko - Bible, Jesus stick
Ben - Anthuriums
Locke - Mousetrap
Vincent - collar
Juliet - baby doll
Sawyer - copy of Dear Mr. Sawyer letter
Christian - sneaker
Jacob - copy of Everything That Rises Must Converge, Lincoln logs for cabin
Jin - fish
Sun - stack of Monopoly money
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:24 AM on January 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

Also, re the timeline joke... you could get a small chalkboard, write 1977/2007 on it (the years we were in for the S5 finale), and keep crossing them out as we go along.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:26 AM on January 25, 2010

Best answer: Are there cheap 1 or 2-item ways to represent a character?

Michael: A big sign that says WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!!!!!
posted by Lucinda at 12:20 PM on January 25, 2010 [2 favorites]

You could play "Match the Famous Person to their Character Namesake" and have pictures of Jean-Jacques (Danielle) Rosseau, John Locke, Michael (Daniel) Faraday, David (Desmond) Hume, Edward Said (Sayid), Edmund (Juliet) Burke, Stephen (Eloise) Hawking, C. S. (Charlotte) Lewis, and Richard Alpert/Ram Dass. I'm probably forgetting a few.

People have to guess which portrait goes with which character.

1-2 small items representing each character...

Locke: Backgammon pieces?
Charlie: little baggie full of powder, guitar pick
Shannon: nail file, nail polish
Boone: Silver lifeguard's whistle, hair gel
Rousseau: French/English dictionary, binoculars
Claire: Jar of peanut butter or a baby doll
Hurley: $1 lottery ticket
Sawyer: A clementine fruit
Penny: A penny, obviously.
Desmond: A compass
Ben: A chess piece
Jack: A surgical face mask, or perhaps Red Sox gear
Ana Lucia: A plastic police badge
Daniel: A timer or stopwatch
Charlotte: Midol
Miles: A Ouija board?
Nikki & Paulo: A rubber spider
Jin: A cheap "gold" wristwatch
posted by castlebravo at 12:36 PM on January 25, 2010

Response by poster: This creativity RE: character tokens is exactly what I want, but these won't mean much to the people unless they are _visible_ reminders of the characters. Imagine lining people up for polaroid pictures--I want to be able to see who they are! TIA!
posted by tintexas at 12:57 PM on January 25, 2010

Best answer: Ah--got it. I missed the "costumes" part, was thinking more symbols.

Hurley: Oversized thin white robe (psych ward), slippers; otherwise a XXXL t-shirt.
Charlie: Little strips of gauze to tape around every finger, give him a Sharpie to spell out words like "FATE." Write "NOT PENNYS BOAT" on one palm.
Sawyer: Gray t-shirt...Cowboy boots? A briefcase with fake money?
Kate: Handcuffs, and painted on freckles.
Jack: Give him a surgical mask, a t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a big box of Kleenex (he's always crying)
Sayid: A fake black beard, and a men's undershirt, and a gun.
Locke: Draw a scar on the right eye, give him a big knife.
Charlotte: Bloody nose
Daniel Faraday: Black tie, messed up hair, journal to consult.
Ana Lucia: Police hat and police badge
Walt: A dog leash and a comic book.
Richard Alpert: Apply heavy eyeliner and mascara.
Ben Linus: A pale blue and white striped button up shirt (it must be completely buttoned and tucked in).
Shannon: A princess tiara and a hand mirror.
Desmond: A long scarf and a button to keep pushing?
Miles: A fake pencil mustache and a gray polar fleece vest.
Rousseau: Wild messy hair, dirty face, tank top
posted by castlebravo at 2:19 PM on January 25, 2010

Seconding "pin the tail section on the Oceanic plane". What a great idea.
posted by churl at 7:53 PM on January 25, 2010

Best answer: Buy a little bit of dry ice, put it in a pot behind a little shrub "forest" (fake or real) or cardboard box "shrine." You have your very own Smokey the smoke monster!
posted by Solon and Thanks at 8:07 PM on January 25, 2010

(this is cheaper than a smoke machine probably, but what do I know)
posted by Solon and Thanks at 8:08 PM on January 25, 2010

How about a "Previously, on Lost:" recap skit contest. Each group prepares a series of completely random dialogue, and whoever comes up with the funniest or most "Lost"-ish recap wins ("He's hurt! We need to get Jack!").

Or a contest for best impression of Jack crying / sarcastic laughing / flipping out.

Maybe there's a way to modify the "Mafia"/"Werewolf" game (as discussed previously on Metafilter) into "Others." Even if there's no time for it at the OP's party, I guess it could be played at someone's party.

And no music compilation wouldn't be complete without "Ride Captain Ride."

But don't have all the partygoers welcome each other with "Namaste." Because that would just be corny.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 10:50 PM on January 25, 2010