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Dr. Pierre Cheng, also known as Dr. Marvin Candle, Dr. Mark Wickmund and Dr. Edgar Halliwax was a Dharma scientist most notable for filming various orientation videos for the different stations on the island. As seen on the Comic-Con video, he is an astro-physicist. He was killed in The Purge.
Appearances
On Lost
"Dr. Marvin Candle" in the Swan orientation film.
"Dr. Mark Wickmund" in the Pearl orientation video.
The scientist in each film worked for the DHARMA Initiative and narrated the films, including the Swan Orientation Film (as Dr. Marvin Candle), the Pearl Orientation Video (as Dr. Mark Wickmund), and the Orchid Orientation Film (as Dr. Edgar Halliwax) and the Flame computer videos (nickname unknown).
In both the Swan and Flame videos, the scientist appeared to have a prosthetic left arm, while the scientist shown in the Pearl video did not. In the Barracks video, the scientist did not move his left arm, suggesting it too might have been a prosthetic. In the Orchid Orientation Film, the scientist was using both arms and claimed he was not an actor but a scientist.
In the Swan film, the scientist stressed to DHARMA employees the importance of pushing the button to avoid another "incident" ("Orientation"). The scientist in The Pearl film, however, implied the button was merely a psychological experiment ("?"). This was revealed to be false ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1"), suggesting The Pearl was the true experiment.
The scientist also appeared in a random access video on the Flame computer (accessed by beating a chess game) which allowed the manual override of various system functions ("Enter 77"). In this video, the DHARMA labcoat the scientist wore bore a Flame logo; while in other videos, the labcoats bore the Swan logo. Notably, the scientist was wearing a suit instead of a DHARMA labcoat in the Pearl video.
An orientation video, apparently shown to new members of the DHARMA Initiative in the 1970s, was also narrated by the scientist, who cautioned the importance of remaining within the fence surrounding the Barracks for protection from the "wildlife" of the island. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
At the Orchid Station, Ben uses Halliwax's parka to go down to the cold room beneath the vault.("The Shape of Things to Come")("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
Outside of Lost episodes
DVD bonus features
Dr. Pierre Cheng in Season 2 Bonus DVD.
He hosted the Lost Season 2 Bonus Features Disc, and was not shown with a prosthetic arm, although this was not necessarily canon.
Comic conventions
In late July 2007, a new orientation video was shown at Comic Con and released on ABC's Lost website for "The Orchid", in which Candle appears. In this orientation film, he refers to himself as "Edgar Halliwax".
On July 26th, 2008 at Comic Con, a video shot by Dan Bronsen was shown during the Lost panel which had a video of Pierre talking to Comic Con audiences in the present from 30 years in the past, stating that he and other members would be killed in a "purge" (which he said they were "powerless to stop"), and claiming it was imperative that the DHARMA Initiative was recreated to finish they important work Pierre and his colleagues had been engaged in. The video gave his real name, Pierre Cheng, for the first time.
Sky One's "Lost: The Answers Are Here" special
On June 1st 2008, in a special broadcast on Sky One, Damon Lindelof referred to "Marvin Candle" as opposed to "Edgar Halliwax" when discussing the Orchid orientation video at the end of season 4. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Trivia
- The casting sheet for "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1" called Dr. Marvin Candle "Waxman".
- 'Waxman' could allude to the use of this man by Dharma for a multitude of purposes and roles.
- Marvin is of Welsh origin, and its meaning is "sea friend". Variant of Mervin. Some derive this name from Myrddin, the Welsh name of King Arthur's wizardly tutor (known in English as Merlin). That name means "sea fortress".
- The last names "Candle," "Wickmund" and "Halliwax" are linked together through their references to candles. He has worn a Swan logo coat or a Flame logo coat in every video except one in which he wore a turtle-neck and sport-coat.
- The word "Namasté", which is spoken at the end of each of the DHARMA Initiative videos at each station on the island, along with the action of bowing with hands pressed together, can be explained in several ways (see also the main article):
- 1. Namasté is the formal and traditional greeting and the way of saying both "goodbye" and "hello" in Hindi.
- 2. "Namas" means 'I bow', and "té" means 'you'; thus, "Namasté" literally means "I bow (to) you".
- 3. Also explained as meaning, in a broad way "you and I share an understanding" as well as wishing someone positive spiritual influences.
- The scenes from the Swan station Orientation film were shot on the APO set from seasons 4 and 5 of Alias in Burbank, California, by the Alias crew. The Pearl film was shot in Hawaii. (Source: Francois Chau Interview, The Tailsection, Comparisons at Lost Virtual Tour)
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Pierre Chang/Theories
- Why does he use multiple aliases?
- Why do his aliases all refer to candles (halliWAX, WICKmund)?
- Did he lose his arm? If so, how?
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