Lost’s fall season finale airs tonight and a lot of writers seem to be quite upset about it. The popular things to write in these articles is that the hiatus is a very bad idea because Lost will loose its momentum and thereby its fans, and that Lost has become boring and too complex.
I think the break is a great idea, because we all know the reason behind it. During last season, Lost’s fans were going crazy with the insane amount of repeats in between the new Lost episodes.
The break
There were two possible solutions to solve this problem; either Season 3 would start in January or February with new episodes airing each week, or the first six episodes could be aired in a mini-season starting in October, followed by the rest of the episodes in February.
It is impossible to produce the episodes fast enough to air a new one each week unless there is a long break allowing the production team to produce episodes. It doesn’t take a week to write, shoot and edit an episode of high quality. It’s simply not possible.
Since the choice was to wait from the end of season 2 all the way until February for Season 3, I feel really happy that the guys at ABC were nice enough to show us the 6 episodes they have finished now instead of making us wait for them. Sure, I wouldn’t mind if the season kept going next week but the fact is that you can’t watch something that isn’t finished. I’d think TV critics and writers would know such a basic thing. It’s like the kids in the back of the car going “are we there yet?” It doesn’t matter how many times you ask, because you’re not there until you’re there. Have some patience.
NJ.com complains:
This forced separation feels particularly iffy given the lukewarm-to-hostile fan reaction to this season’s first five “Lost” episodes.
Please show me these fans, because I can’t find them. Does anyone except these critics really feel that the start of Lost season 3 has been bad? Some episodes have been better than others and the season 2 finale is a lot to live up to, but in my opinion all the episodes so far have been really good.
5 ways to tailor Lost to the masses
Kevin D. Thompson even wrote a list with 5 tips on how the writers can improve Lost. Let’s look at his ideas (in bold).
Answer more questions!
Alright, I can agree about this, there are a lot of smaller mysteries that shouldn’t be to hard to clear up. Unless of course these smaller mysteries tie into the larger mysteries which only can be revealed later in the story. I have faith in the writing team, the answers will come.
Stop adding castaways
Nobody likes Paulo and Nikki and at the moment I too would prefer if they just disappeared. However, everyone really hated Jin at first too and now he’s one of the most beloved characters on Lost so I’ll give them a bit more time. How you can complain about Juliet is beyond me. She’s the most interesting woman on the show!
Wrap-up The Others
Are you watching the same show as I am? The Others are the single most intriguing thing in Lost right now. Remember when everyone was asking “who are the others?” in season one? Well you are finally starting to get some of those answers you were looking for! The story has to move forward. Do you really think Lost would be any good if everyone was still on the beach playing poker for the last mangoes?
Get rid of the add-nothing flashbacks
The Sawyer flashback in “Every Man for Himself” was very well connected to Sawyer’s story in the episode and we even learned that Sawyer had been in jail and that he may have a daughter. Knowing these kind of important facts about the characters’ backgrounds helps us understand them and what motivation they have for their actions.
Pump up the action
Lost is not an action series, it is a psychological drama with some action spliced in now and then. Personally I really like the current format with mysteries and drama taking up most of the time and I think most fans would agree that what you call “rock ‘em, sock ‘em action” is not part of Lost. If you don’t enjoy drama and mysteries and just want the action there are a bunch of shows which you would probably prefer.
Conclusion
I know, this post became a bit of a rant but I’m getting a bit tired of all the articles complaining about Lost when the show is still superior to most other shows on TV. The truth is, Lost is not for everyone. Those who started watching the show expecting it to be a story about beautiful people sunbathing on a beach won’t like the science fiction elements, but that’s just natural. You can’t have everything.
Either you have a pretty good show that appeals to everyone, or you have a great show that doesn’t care about pleasing the masses and instead focuses on the story and dares to challenge the viewers with complex storylines and high quality drama. I know which one I prefer.
” Does anyone except these critics really feel that the start of Lost season 3 has been bad?”
The couple of million viewers that they lost between now and the Season 3 premiere probably do.
No, but for serious, these critics are kind of ridiculous. There was one article that said that Eko was killed for no reason by a monster that we still know nothing about. What?! Do they have to spell it out for you?! We got a ridiculous amount of info about the monster in that episode, as well as a reason for why it killed Eko.
Actually I don’t remember any information that was given about the smoke monster or why it killed Eko. The actor wanted off the show so they picked the easiest way to get rid of him. Like, “Hey, guys, remember that smoke monster? We should totally have it kill off Eko. Yeah”
Uh… Nobody likes the new survivors? I guess my opinion doesn’t count.
Come on, you’d have to be crazy to think they can keep coming up with new backstories for all the original castaways. I, for one, am glad that we are finally seeing that the rest of the survivors are interested in what the hell is going on on the island, and not just fixing their tent or sitting by a fire.
Misty, the information was between the lines, but yeah, it’s still just speculation since we don’t know for sure.
The general idea seems to be that we learned that the smoke monster can transform into human form (Yemi) and that Eko was killed because he didn’t feel sorry for his sins. The smoke monster appears to be some form of judge, jury and executioner.
Well, from what I saw we got answers about Smokey. Yes, Eko did want off the show and that was an easy way to get rid of him. But at the same time, if you were really watching and seeing what was going on between Eko and his Brother you would see what I mean. I truely believe that the vision of his Brother was smokey. Since Eko did not repent, Smokey killed him. Eko’s Brother said “You talk to me like I am your Brother”. Eko right away knew that it was not his Brother and asked him who he was.
Smokey was following Eko the entire trek out to the Perl. The visions of the people that he had killed were also produced by smokey including the alter boy that told him to repent.
As for the show, I really hate to wait for anything, but getting these first few episodes is better than waiting 3/4 of a year for the show to start back up. I have been pleased with the show and the answers that they have been giving. I am hooked and am always reading up on anything lost as well as watching the lost shows over for anything that I may have missed the first time through. The show makes people think about things instead of having them just sit mindlessly watching a show. I say keep up the GREAT work to the writers and sorry for the rant.
-Critics !!!
Ha ,dont make me laugh,the greatist people/music/art/ideas/ect ..
all had there “critics”.Paid critics are the closest a human can come to not being genetically defective.
-5 ways to tailor Lost to the masses????
“F” the masses,the masses are dumb and lazy,is that how we want this show to end up?,please say no.The worst shows in the history of TV were”Tailored to the Masses”
-Conclusion
Let the writers and the peole who make the show possible do THEIR thing and enjoy a great show and let the socalled critics go watch some spoon fed pablem crap that occupy the other 800 channels
The complaint I have about the season is that it shouldn’t take three months to get back to the episodes? What ever happened to that 3 sets of seven episodes idea that was first floated around?
Honestly, the three months sounds more like network lunacy than what the writers want, but I could wrong.
As for this season sucking, wrong. Everyone hated the first 4 episodes of season 2, but look at the end result. We have trusted the writers to this point, a little more can’t hurt, I am sure the best is yet to come.
One thing I keep asking and no one answers is how will Jack, Kate, and Sawyer ever be able to go back to the beach knowing what they now know? I just can’t see where they can. Maybe I am wrong again. Anyone have a theory on that?
As for critics, I can’t stand them. They are lined up around the block to spit on the good shows and movies. But somehow they all love Gilmore Girls and Brothers and Sisters, so it shows what critics are good for. Nothing.
[quote comment="13734"]
One thing I keep asking and no one answers is how will Jack, Kate, and Sawyer ever be able to go back to the beach knowing what they now know? I just can’t see where they can. Maybe I am wrong again. Anyone have a theory on that?[/quote]
Very good point. I’d say it’s possible that they won’t be going back, at least not Jack.
I’m glad to see everyone sticking up for the BEST show on tv. All these critics and detracters are not fans and fans are what keep a show alive. It’s just like anything else on tv. If you don’t like it; don’t watch it.
The plan for this year was announced months ago, so why is everyone caught so off guard? It’s also a much better plan than last year. I personally would rather just take the hit one year and have the show start in January or February since ABC needs this show on in May for the ratings wars.
Either way, I will watch no matter what. I’ve loved this show from the beginning and I’m totally invested in the genius of one of the smartest shows in television history. Lost has changed the landscape of tv forever. Unfortunatly critics today have to bash everything and can’t just say “thank you. thank you Lost for being so great.”
The sad thing is Lost will probably end up like Twin Peaks. A completely genius show that never got it’s due while on air, but was longed for by everyone after it was gone. So, to all the “critics” out there. Grow up and stop whining. If you don’t like the show, fine, don’t watch it. I, along with millions of others, will be there to take you’re place.
Andreas, I agree with you…mostly.
I also get tired of the critics and I often find myself defending the show.
But I also think the show is in danger of losing viewers. And I don’t think it is because of the “science-fictionany-ness” of the show (you like that word? I just invented it!). I think it has just become too confusing to a lot of people.
X-Files had a lot of mythology and it was confusing as well, but most episodes had a single episode mystery that Mulder and Scully would solve and the audience would leave satisfied.
Even 24 (and supposedly Heroes) have season-concluding arcs that leave the audience satisfied.
Lost, however, is REALLY pushing the boundaries, basically telling us that there are some mysteries that will not be answered until the series is over. How disappointing is that?
The answer, I think, is not to give us more answers necessarily. The reality is that we actually HAVE been given a lot of answers this season (more about The Others, Hatch, Smokey, Island is in the “real world”, etc). It just doesn’t “feel” like we have answers because they create so many questions.
So my advice (like the producers give a rat’s hiney what I think) is to find a way to give casual viewers the illusion of conclusion. The mechanism already exists to some degree via the flashbacks. The flashbacks need to be more of a mini-story (with beginning, middle, conclusion), so a first time viewer could watch it and get something out of the show and not leave feeling confused.
And for the not-so-casual viewers like those of us on this blog, they need to come up with some illusions of conclusions for us as well.
One thing that I think has become frustrating for me is that the story doesn’t have a true sense of purpose or quest right now. In the early days the castaways had a common problem and some mysteries but the basic mission or quest was the same: survive, find a way to get rescued. As a motive, this falls flat now in light of all the new info we have. To simply survive and find a way off the island is no longer enough reward for the viewer.
I feel like the castaways are aimless and so are we as viewers. It seems like to some degree the castaways have accepted their marooned nature and are now more interested (as a primary quest) to get answers and figure out “what is going on.” I think this shift in purpose happened subtly but it happened. And now that the motivation of the characters has shifted it is frustrating as an audience when they don’t get answers. Before we could live with it because it wasn’t the primary quest, it was just stuff on the side that made it interesting.
So I think the castaways need a new purpose. A new mission. Something the viewers can latch onto and see some success (the illusion of conclusion).
Some possible ideas:
Penelope’s and Desmond’s quest to reunite. Her desire to find the island, his to prove himself. Much progress and satisfaction could be made on this front without giving away “mysteries”.
Whatever grand “purpose” the Others have could be adopted by the castaways.
So anyway, those are my rambling thoughts. Again I apologize for my inability for brevity.
To compare it to Heroes again, they have a well defined “mission”: stop the atomic explosion in NY. They will get that resolved this season. Heroes has PLENTY of mysteries but the audience can live with it because there is a greater arc that will be resolved.
Lost needs one as well.
– Floorcookie
Very good post Floorcookie. You make some very good points and I agree that there should be a bit more conclusions.
The comparison to the structure of X-files where a mystery is solved in every episode is quite interesting. I think this could be somewhat implemented into Lost to make the episodes more enjoyable on their own, but I wouldn’t want the focus to shift from telling the larger story into telling one short story in every episode.
Floorcookie,
I have to disagree with you on the needing to be a show like heroes and the like. This show was founded on the fact that it is not like those other shows. It requires people to follow and think about what is going on throughout the season. This is something that most people are not used to. If you (And I don’t me you personally) can’t put a lot of deep thought into what is going on, then you become lost (Excuse the pun) and the show becomes something that you just can’t get into. I for one love that it make you think about what is going on and to discuss theories with friends and other viewers. I read every theory and post I can find around the net and take that along with my own and am able to what makes sense and what just has no basis on reality.
I think that people have gotten too used to being spoon fed the stories in the shows that they watch. Much like people that would rather watch the movie rather than read the book of a story. You get so much more out of a show that gets you involved in it as this show does.
Al least that is what I think. I could be completely LOST
though.
Get post Andreas! Rant on!
I say screw the critics, half the time all they are doing is trying to stir things up anyway. (It sells more papers and magazines.) LOST is by far the very best network television to come along for quite some time. The PTB cannot possibly give us all the answers or the show would end. I don’t want it to end…..ever. I find the character studies with each flashback to be well done and usually relate to what is going on real time on the island (for the occasional viewer). It is refreshing to have to think and then think again about what you are watching. I work 10-12 hours a day, when I get home I am exhausted but LOST can always get my mind out of the office and into a different space.
) I am more than happy to wait for the answers because I have yet to be disappointed. You really do have to trust them. And we actually have learned a lot. We know how the crash happened, we know what the numbers mean, we are beginning to get a flavor for the island’s goings on. We know the Others are a community and that Dharma was a failure. We know Penny will be looking so the island is not a dream or purgatory. I don’t want to know everything, I am loving the ride. The hiatus will only make us all appreciate that LOST is really great entertainment and won’t it be great to have 17 episodes in a row!!!!??? By the way, how many true LOST fans are really watching Idol and Criminal Minds anyway? Run of the mill same-every-week television is dead. It will take a little while for the critics to catch up on that one….noboby likes change! (Remember the ruckus when they tried to convince the masses the world was not flat?) Long live LOST! SHOW TIME!
I have to disagree with you guys here. I really think that LOST has jumped the shark. The third season has been flat awful thus far. I don’t feel particularly compelled to get into a tit-for-tat run down of why, but I will say that it seems to me that the people producing the show are no longer particularly concerned with *story* per se. The main plot (the one on the island) is barely inching along and is losing coherency by the episode. The flashbacks now only serve to blunt the momentum of the show and allow ABC to milk the show and stretch it out. I mean come on, we have not learned one new thing about a major character this season in a flashback. Worst of all, the characters consistently fail to behave in fundamentally reasonable ways (i.e. Jack, for instance, has not once asked his captors about THE GIANT SMOKE MONSTER he saw drag Locke around, or even the hatch or the button of the Black Rock, or…). When plot starts riding characters so hard that they do unreasonable things, this is a sure sign that a work of fiction is of dubious artisitic merit.
I hate to be a nay sayer (I really liked the character driven first season), but it seems that there is a very good chance that there is no overarching plan for this show. It never delivered on the enticing exposition from season one. We’re three seasons in and still being spoon fed more exposition and dead end plots. If you doubt me, I ask you this: why did we spend last season getting introduced to the tailies if they were all going to get bumped off?
It’s not about the mysteries, the flashbacks, the characters, the plot, etc. It’s about what these elements, these fictional *story telling* elements come together and *make*. And right now LOST isn’t making much of itself. It’s not making any statements (artistic, philosophical, or otherwise), there are no apparent writerly concerns that are engaged in meaningful ways…only melodrama at this point. And that’s fine…if melodrama is what you’re after. No judgment there.
But, like the saying goes, don’t piss in my ear and tell me it’s raining. If you make an honest effort to stop being a LOST apologist and begin evaluating the show critically, you might come around to my perspective.
Good article Andreas. All the changes that Kevin proposes seem to indicate that he wants less of what I loved about Lost to start off with – the flashbacks and the suspense, rather than outright action. Seems like he wants Prison Break Mk II, rather than a sweet island mystery. As for me, I still love it. Still watch it. Regarding all the unresolved mysteries, people need to get over it and draw their own conclusions until the blanks are filled in. The X-Files took years to resolve, with far less characters – and not as cool an environment.
I agree they must answer more questions. Even if those answers lead to more mysteries they have to thow us more bones.
I think Dave’s post is spot on. I am one of those “critics†and I am disappointed with the show for many of the reasons in Dave’s post. I continue to watch with the hope that the show will regain its essence –what attracted me in the first place. There is a lot of criticism of “critics†but lets remember that the viewers are the critics…… and the show is a product. If enough viewers become dissatisfied with the show it will get pulled from the air. It is in everyone’s best interest to ensure that Lost has a long run that will entertain us for years to come.
Maybe I am a LOST fanboy, but I personally am enjoying the third season. I enjoyed the second season. And I enjoyed the first season.
Remember the saying “You’re beating the horse?” What would the critics be saying if we were 1/3 through Season three and we are still running the show with the same “lie on the beach and play backgammon” plot? That was Season One, and it was great. You can’t go on with the same thing over and over. Things change.
Granted, the show has become complex, but, at least to me, that is part of what’s great — if you can’t wrap your head around it, well… Sorry.
The of narrative storytelling says that the beginning is simple, and as the story progresses, the complexity and the questions raised grow at a rate higher than the answers given. The point at which that flips — more answers are given that questions raised — is the climax. Then, in the falling action, the number of questions decreases to nil.
LOST is that it is following that pattern. The critics don’t notice, but answers ARE given. The thing is, the climax of the overarching story has not been reached, so we have more questions than answers. Just look forward to when they are resolved.
Sorry if that was a bit unorganized and badly organized, but those are my raw thoughts. I love LOST, and I can think of hardly anything that would change that.
[quote comment="13809"]I have to disagree with you guys here. I really think that LOST has jumped the shark. The third season has been flat awful thus far. I don’t feel particularly compelled to get into a tit-for-tat run down of why, but I will say that it seems to me that the people producing the show are no longer particularly concerned with *story* per se. The main plot (the one on the island) is barely inching along and is losing coherency by the episode. The flashbacks now only serve to blunt the momentum of the show and allow ABC to milk the show and stretch it out. I mean come on, we have not learned one new thing about a major character this season in a flashback. Worst of all, the characters consistently fail to behave in fundamentally reasonable ways (i.e. Jack, for instance, has not once asked his captors about THE GIANT SMOKE MONSTER he saw drag Locke around, or even the hatch or the button of the Black Rock, or…). When plot starts riding characters so hard that they do unreasonable things, this is a sure sign that a work of fiction is of dubious artisitic merit.
I hate to be a nay sayer (I really liked the character driven first season), but it seems that there is a very good chance that there is no overarching plan for this show. It never delivered on the enticing exposition from season one. We’re three seasons in and still being spoon fed more exposition and dead end plots. If you doubt me, I ask you this: why did we spend last season getting introduced to the tailies if they were all going to get bumped off?
It’s not about the mysteries, the flashbacks, the characters, the plot, etc. It’s about what these elements, these fictional *story telling* elements come together and *make*. And right now LOST isn’t making much of itself. It’s not making any statements (artistic, philosophical, or otherwise), there are no apparent writerly concerns that are engaged in meaningful ways…only melodrama at this point. And that’s fine…if melodrama is what you’re after. No judgment there.
But, like the saying goes, don’t piss in my ear and tell me it’s raining. If you make an honest effort to stop being a LOST apologist and begin evaluating the show critically, you might come around to my perspective.[/quote]
I have been watching lost fro season one and for me this nails it on the head. I bet if you go back and watch the whole thing from season one, you’ll see a lot of information that doesn’t jive with what’s going on now. In addition, I bet there will be “mysteries” that we have completely forgotten about that haven’t been answered. I have always felt there was never an overall story, or goal, but that the writers were making it up as they went along. This season has definitely reinforced that, and you see that when you find out that Henry/Ben was supposed to be a short term character, but they liked him so now he’s the leader of the others? That’s my opinion anyway. Thanks for the blog! I really enjoy reading everyone’s thoughts on the show!
I really agree with your post Castaway03. Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn in LOTR) said the same thing with “before the end, things get darker”.
I think Lost is great and the answers will come when it is time for them to come.
To Dave and all of those that think that Lost has “jumped the shark”(which is such a lame “Hollywood” thing). You don’t have to watch it. There are plenty of vanilla shows out there for you. Desperate Housewives or that doomed to end quikly show on CBS, Jericho or something like that. Hell, watch one of the 300 different Law & Orders that solve each case in an hour or if you’re lucky a two hour special that they couldn’t solve in the initial hour.
I just don’t understand why so many watch this show and then bitch about it. Because the writting and production on this show far out matches anyother show thats out now or that has been on in the last 10- 15 years. I’ve never been so into a show like i am right now. If I didn’t like a show; I wouldn’t watch it.
Lost will be the benchmark for sci-fi/drama shows for the next decade or better. So, to all the mutineers on this ship; the bloody deep is waitin’ for ya.
I, for one, am going to help sail this ship until that Final Destination is realized. And it will be realized and all of the mysteries that we “forgot about” will materialize and suprise the hell out of us and i can’t wait to be there.
You came off like quite a smug little ass in your last post, KillerR. I’m sure you didn’t mean it though, so let me help you try to get over your puerile evaluation of my opinion of the current LOST status quo.
I’m not interested in “vanilla” shows. Never was. This is precisely why I “bitch” about the show now: LOST was once a well written show with a great deal of promise. More to the point, LOST was constructed in such way that it indicated that there was a substantive subtext to the show in which issues such as philosophy and science were engaged with meaningfully.
It’s now becoming obvious that the show’s writing is devolving and that LOST is incapable of delivering on its initial promise. The subtexts ring hollow now; the show is only its expository surface. Lost is now superficial melodrama. The moment the scales tipped in this direction, the show jumped the shark…whether you like the phrase or not.
I complain to voice my disappointment, and I assume others do as well. I complain in order to repudiate the show for failure to deliver on the bill of goods it promised early on. To my mind, this failure is clear evidence that LOST is now sailing the seas of vanilla itself and that its “Final Destination” is largely irrelevant and that getting there (especially at the show’s current pace) is a waste of time. I mean come on, it’s painfully obvious that the LOST writers are milking their past success…spinning their wheels and dragging their feet *precisely* because they know that they can count on uncritical viewers coming back to the show no matter how diluted and mediocre it’s become.
By not delivering the goods in an expedient manner, LOST is manipulating viewers and stringing them along. I think this is wrong and worth bitching about.
Now, these are my opinions, and I’m willing to discuss them in a respectful manner. Additionally, I’ll respect your opinions if they are presented without antagonism. I may not agree with them, but I won’t behave like an ass if this is the case.
Which brings me to another point. Ironically, the most interesting thing about your post was *its* subtext. Why should you be so angry because of an opinion I hold?
Although this might be a question more appropriate for your therapist, here’s what I think. Engaging with LOST critically bursts the bubble of “immersive fantasy” that LOST is now trying to create. For people like yourself, KillerR, who don’t have a sophisticated enought critical toolkit to see LOST for what is these days, this is uncomfortable.
And this ties into another reason that I bitch. Like I said, beginning somewhere in the second season, LOST stopped telling a story and started behaving more like a computer game than a work of fiction. LOST now entails not only watching the episode of the week, but spending time online with the LOST Experience, pseudo-academic, self-gratifying “research” to unravel its self-referential maze of nonsense dead-ends, and clues. This isn’t what those of us who have been with the show since the beginning signed on for.
It’ll go nowhere. It’ll never resolve. Ten years from now, you’ll be re-watching your LOST DVDs trying to glean some sort of meaning from a flashback, KillerR. And that’s sad, but it’s also your prerogative.
So, I’m sorry that I’ve made you angry and made it more difficult to suspend your disbelief in the face of crappy, manipulative TV. But hey, you can just skip my posts if they trouble you so.
As for me, if LOST doesn’t shape up, I’ll ditch it. But I hope it can pull out of its tailspin, because it was great once.
No sub-text? How about the ever-present themes of pragmatism vs. idealism, free-will vs. determinism and the freudian conflict of superego and id (manifested in jack and sawyer, respectively)?
Now, I’ll be the first to admit the Season 2 was sub-par and that the entire story about the “tailies” was superficial and added a) nothing meaningful to the ethos of LOST, and b) new characters that we actually care about (since the single interesting character from the tail was killed this season).
Even with this in mind, LOST is without a doubt the smartest and most subversive show on network television today (possibly ever). There’s simply no argument you can give that will prove that this show is anything less than phenomenal. Any criticism towards the show is simply a blacklash of it’s own success and people being nit-picky.
Well then, Dave, I guess we’ll see you later.
i find this amusing: in the beginning when the show was full of mystery and really interesting tidbits, everyone came to the blog to talk about their theories and point out little interesting pieces of the show. (the mystery of the numbers alone sustained the whole first season.) now that the show doesn’t offer so much of that, the bloggers have turned on each other. more than one fight have broken out lately, and people aren’t so nice and enthusiastic to each other’s views like they were in the beginning. the writers, meanwhile, are probably taking their little 3-month hiatus to troll the blogs in search of ideas and things they’ve been f’ing up on.
don’t get me wrong, i still like the show. but then, i was addicted to soap operas at one point because they did the exact same thing lost is doing now. eventually though, you realize that you can take it or leave it.
While I agree that people were a bit more enthusiastic during season 2 and I’m sad to see “fights” in the comments, I think it’s just a result of the story moving forward.
As with every story, you create your own vision of the characters and the world they live in and you make up an idea of how you would like the story to continue. When the story then moves in a different direction, you might be disappointed or even feel betrayed.
To fully appreciate Lost, I think you need to have an open mind.
I just wish people would remember that the story is starting to slow down. Each episode is now only covering half or even a quarter of a day. To expect several answers to the mysteries that have been built in to the show is insane. One must also remember that season 2 started very similar to this season and, in MY OPINION, this season is setting up to be the most exciting and informative yet. The answers will come. We should concentrate on what information is given instead of harping on what isn’t.
I was just checking the Oceanic website, and noticed that Boone and Shannon were in the nose section of the plane? ABC runs that site correct? If that was the case, so you think that was an error on their part,or that there may be more to come with that storyline? I never saw anything saying they had moved . I.E Bernard in the bathroom, or Charlie getting his heroine fix.
To begin, I really love this show, I’ve been in love since season 1.
But now I’m getting angry. I don’t mean to be the obnoxious fan who nitpicks, but seriously, can I get a little love here?
The four toed statue?
The numbers?
Claire’s baby?
Rousseau and her baby? (black smoke brazier)
The arctic station?
The other hatches?
Mentally ill Hurly? (Liddy in the asylum)
They’ve dropped all of these. I would really appreciated just ONE answer, or at least a clue. The beautiful thing was that in the beginning, the show moved forward the central plot, developed the back story and created these beautifully dark mysteries. Each one referenced the others and each new episodes brought dozens of connections. Few answers were given but at least we got closer with each and every episode.
I like this new plot line, but it’s taken over the series. It’s almost as if they’ve abandoned the old show in favor of this new prisoner-drama. It’s good, but it aint oldschool LOST.
I feel the reason for viewer drop off is because MOST people who watched the show in the beginning developed a theory about what was going on…MOST of these people are not the type to invest time and effort into a deep show like Lost. They thought their theory and major questions would get answered right away. Since the questions are not yet answered, they are complaining about what made the show what it is…a deep mystery. They are most likely going back to shows that get solved within the hour.
I compare this to Lord of the Rings. Extremely popular and deep, but if they were to make 3 more lengthy movies to keep the story going…viewer drop off. I know lots of people who never watched the third movie because “it’s too long”. Didn’t matter that the movies were great, just that they were too long.
This is what is happening with Lost fans…it’s taking too long. I say so what…go watch something else and complain about it to someone else…Lost is what it is and the deep mystery is why I watch.
But don’t you feel as if they’ve dropped that entire aspect of the show? The mysteries haven’t been touched on in these last six episodes. Or barely at all. To end season 2 with that cliffhanger and to not come back, it’s just cruel. And all of the original aspects of that amazingly dark and deep, theory generating environment seem to have disappeared.
Not to me, Ben. They said from the beginning that the main story would take about 5 seasons. At some point, filler is needed. In reality, the major mysteries cannot be given up at the beginning of season three and expect people to start watching again in Feb. I trust that second part of season three will touch on many of the “little” things that everyone is complaining about…but I also predict that for many “fans” it won’t be enough and more complaining will occur.
Remember, we are not watching a movie, it’s a several season series.
Also, what if they solved all of these in the first six episodes of this season? Then there would be no reason to watch anymore. This show isn’t like any of the others. Example: we first heard of Kate having been married before in season one somewhere around episode 12 or 13 or something. We didn’t find out to who, when, or where until episode 6 of season 3. We have to except the fact that these character arcs are emence and deliberatly slow. My question is: Do you want a show that’s going to be on tv for 6 or 7 seasons or do you want a nice and neat 2 hour movie? Its obvious; this show isn’t geared for everyone. Patience is not in these days. Society has sped up so that we expect (or demand) everything NOW.
I guarantee you that this same thing will happen to HEROES in two or three seasons. It happens to all shows like these. tens of millions of people will start watching in season one. Then once its apparent that not all the answers are going to be given in the second season the numbers will go down.
We forget about all the answers we’ve been given and the mysteries that have been solved.
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