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Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:35 pm
by Arkán Dreamwalker
When listening to Lester talk to his invisible dog, did you have a mental picture of what Ralph looks like to Lester? How did Ralph look to you?
Me, I got an image of a medium-small reddish-brown dog with slightly long hair. Very friendly and non-intimidating, the sort Lester would find comfort in Upon the death of his friend.

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:41 pm
by Kaida
Hmm... I thought of a Dachshund. I don't really know why but that's what came to mind.

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:47 pm
by Suzy Lou Foolish
Oh my wordy! That was such a precious episode! It made me cry. Hmmm...I always kind of imagined "Ralph" as a friendly and excited, rather smallish dog with dark hair. But I never thought on it a whole lot, that's normally what came to mind though.

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 1:11 pm
by Doll
I thought of him more as a hairy mutt.

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 1:13 pm
by ArnoldtheRubberDucky
I thought of him as a beagle. Isn't that what Lester said he was? That was quite an emotional episode, suzy. As usual, I couldn't bring myself to cry, (except when I heard Eugene would be teaching) but I still really liked the episode, particularly since Lester was in it. Oooh, I was so close to crying at the end of No Way In when Lester was crying over Whit!

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 1:30 pm
by Suzy Lou Foolish
I seem to remember something about that too. But was it Lester's 'dog' a beagle? Or was Trent's dog that died a beagle? I don't remember...its been forever since I heard that episode. And yes, No Way In made me all emotional too. I miss Lester...he was a sweet character.

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:02 pm
by Mr. Smiley
For some reason, I always pictured Ralph as a chocolate lab; medium sized with short, silky smooth hair.
And Suzy, I think it was Trent's dog that was a beagle, and his name was Bingo. Does that ring a bell?

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:14 pm
by ArnoldtheRubberDucky
Yes, I was confused. Come to think of it, I haven't heard The Invisible Dog in a while either...

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:21 pm
by Arkán Dreamwalker
No one has heard this episode recently except me! :!: Yes Trent's dog was a beagle named Bingo. And Lester's "Just like a teddy bear."

Re: Do you see Ralph?

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:23 pm
by Suzy Lou Foolish
Thanks for clearing that up, Arakan. I think I need to go listen to it again...

Lester

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:42 pm
by Arkán Dreamwalker
When Whit first asked (In No Way Out pt. 1) “Where am I?” He was answered with: “You’re with Lester.” This is exactly right. Lester being mentally unsound (*sigh*, yes, like Pound Foolish.), his mentality picked up on the fact that there was no relative measure and therefore established him as the only point of association. An interesting aspect of his psyche is that his brain is mentally hindered, yet smart in its own way. He knew that it was “shots” he was receiving and his brain made the connection between the words “shot” and “shoot” causing him to confuse Whit by saying “They’ll shoot me.” On the one hand this sounds stupid (*sigh*, yes, like Pound Foolish). On the other hand it was clever of him to make connection between “shot” and “shoot”. You see this linkage mentality in his saying 3-18-99 when he meant “I can’t tell you”: The combination of the safe being a secret his mind made the link between the two and thus he said three-eighteen-ninety nine. He later proved his intelligence by tricking the burglar at the end of No Way Out pt. 2.
At the beginning Lester was full of fear, only nurtured by living alone (except for Ralph), sneaking about, and being yelled at whenever he was seen. He was as much imprisoned by his fear as by the walls of his room. This fear caused an extreme secrecy which hindered his helping Whit. It was his love for Whit that caused his selflessness to finally shine through and gave up his secrecy and fear at the same time.
Why we do not hear of Ralph in this episode is debatable, one reason being that he was too distracted (with Whit) whenever we see him, this however in not entirely credible. The real reason of course is that the writers hadn’t thought of Ralph yet.
I will not go into why Lester created Ralph because Whit’s psychologist friend went into that in The Invisible Dog. All in all, Lester is at heart an extremely kindhearted soul, who wishes the best for everybody, mentally unsound though he may be.

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:57 pm
by Tea Ess
I haven't heard The Invisible Dog, so I can't comment on Ralph. You're very right, though. Even though Lester sometimes struggled to function normally, he was able to make remarkable connections between two completely different things. I also think AiO did an amazing job with the 'No Way Out/No Way In' episodes. They were well done, being suspenseful without being frightening, they portrayed Lester perfectly, and they even weaved in the Washingtons without it being too, um, Washingtonish.

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:41 pm
by Arkán Dreamwalker
Only one reply. :cry: T. S. is my only friend. Or maybe everyone is off somewhere. OR MAYBE EVERYONE IS TO LAZY TO READ LONG POSTS!!! :evil:
Or maybe it's the title. I made the title fancy sounding for fun, but apparently everyone is to lazy to read something smart sounding. (Preferring the childishness and insults PF's posts.) Ah well, just me talking to myself...

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:17 pm
by Tea Ess
I'm here too! And don't worry, they'll come around sometime. It can take a day or two though.

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:40 pm
by Arkán Dreamwalker
Hasn't it been a few days?

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:19 pm
by Rosy
Well, I read it, and I agree with most everything you said. Lester is really sweet, but I don't think he'd fit in with today's characters, so I don't want him to come back.

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:49 am
by MeltsnerGirl91
I've only heard No Way Out once, so I don't remember it all that well. I do have "Invisible Dog" though. I think Lester has one of the biggest, most pure hearts. He is smarter than other people think he is. I think he just has problems with connecting with reality sometimes. Odyssey did a great job with his character. I have an autistic brother, so I have a little insight some people don't have.

Great idea bringing this up, Arkan!

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:57 am
by Pound Foolish
Autistic people aren't stupid, as we all know. I'm a little acquainted with someone who's a little autistic, and, frankly, he sometimes comes off as very ignorant, and, to me, seems a bore. He barely has a sense of humor! Of course, one's intelligence, is really one's ability to learn. I don't really know much about an autistic person's ability to learn, but I'm aware many very autistic people have been academic geniuses. As for Lester, apart from being presumably autistic, he had a very big, pure, simple, sensitive heart that made him very childish, in a good way.
Oh, and Arkan, what do you mean, "childishness and insults"!? I'll have you know they're very mature insults! ;)

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:31 pm
by Odysseygirl101
I agree with undereasie

Re: A Psychoanalysis of Lester

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:53 pm
by ArnoldtheRubberDucky
This topic has been mentioned on The U.S.S. Response.