Category Archives: Characters (and their actors)

Matthew Fox in "Ask Lost"

Did you ever see the old Groucho Marx TV show, You Bet Your Life? It was a game show where contestants answered questions in various categories. In each episode, there was also a “secret word.” A toy duck was lowered from the ceiling with the secret word in its beak, so that the audience could see what it was. If any of the contestants said the word while chatting with Groucho, the duck would come down again and give them a prize of $100.

Ever since I decided, on a whim, to name this blog “For a Reason,” I’ve become hyperaware of that phrase. Now, whenever I hear one of the characters say “for a reason” on the show or hear one of the actors say the phrase in an interview, I feel as if they had just uttered the secret word. I think “Ding ding ding!” and wish that a toy duck would descend from the ceiling bearing a prize.

While watching this video, the sixth in the “Ask Lost” series, I had one of those wishing-for-Groucho’s-duck moments, because Matthew Fox does indeed say the secret phrase “for a reason.” Give that man a hundred dollars!