Well I looked and since I didn't find one in here, I thought I'd light the wick on this stick of dynamite and gauge who here loves (and hates) the ongoing TV series "LOST", seen domestically in the US on ABC.
Personally, I love the show, but if you ask Neo, he'll tell you it's one of the worst shows in creation. Tonight is the finale of the 4th season and I can't wait to get home from work to watch it.
What's your thoughts on where the series is going, or just your opinions on the show? Love it or hate it if you want, but if all else discuss why.
And awayyyyyyyyyy we go! ^_^
LOST - The Official Thread
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Soul Bro Ryu
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LOST - The Official Thread
Soul Bro Ryu
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I used to watch the show, and liked it quite a bit. IMO, it was good during the first season, but a combination of slow episode pacing, annoyingly long gaps between when new episodes aired during the second (Several weeks between episodes a few times, combined with odd choices for reruns inbetween), the story becoming odder and less interesting, among other factors, led to me loosing interest by the middle point of the second season. I haven't really watched it since.
I must betray Stalindog!!!
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Fritz Ashlyn
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I love the show and have gotten a few people hooked since it started airing.
Tonight's season finale was interesting to say the least, and I'll leave spoilers out to avoid ruining it for anyone.
Tonight's season finale was interesting to say the least, and I'll leave spoilers out to avoid ruining it for anyone.
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RPG Trinary: Ortega
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Hey! why don't you swing on down to the RPG section? Tales from the Frontlines: The AEUG running strong since 2006!
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Soul Bro Ryu
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Damn. So far it's just you and me, Fritz. But given the impressions I've already heard from most of the folks I know, I had a feeling that the majority here might feel negatively or indifferent about the show. It's understandable though and over time I've come to realize that people who watch or don't watch LOST usually fall into one of these groups.
- The Non-interested / Uninitiated:
Those who know about the show vaguely or have no knowledge of the series at all. Those who fall into the former category are either not keen at all about a show like this and haven't been enticed to check it out at all.
(Oddly enough, during the airing of Season 1, I fit right into that category. Knowing next to nothing LOST, I didn't have much interest in watching what I thought was nothing more than "Castaway: The Series". Only after Season 2 had begun and I had the S1 DVD set thrown into my lap did I give it a fair shake and I soon realized that my first impressions of the show was way off.)
- The Jaded / Bored / Frustrated:
Those who had given the show a chance, either from the beginning or jumped into some episodes while the show was in full swing only to become turned-off for one of many valid/understandable reasons. Many reasons have already been stated: plot pacing, enigmatic elements, stingy reveals (at least in the beginning), non-linear narrative, red herrings, and keeping track of how everything connects as each episode progresses. Most of these folks have long since lost interest in LOST as a result and very little could probably be done to rekindle their interest, especially to those who didn't expect this show to go the route it did or run this long.
Until I started watching LOST, I had no idea that the storyline was such of an enigma, although it's slightly less now than when it began. I was already a sucker for mysteries, more so in novel or manga form, and ironically I had finished Naoki Urasawa's "Monster" and was reading his "20th Century Boys" around the time I finally started Season One in late 2005. To come across a TV series just as compelling as those mangas at that time was a rare stroke of luck for someone like me who hasn't been this hooked on a broadcast live-action series since "Star Trek: The Next Generation" ended in 1994. The void in my couch-potato soul was soon filled again when I soon became addicted in by this damn show.
- The Casual Viewer:
Probably, the smallest of the four groups. Basically those who watch on occasion with their more LOST-fanatical friends or check it if there's nothing else to watch when flipping through the channels. Most are on the fence about watching the show in it's entirety and are more resigned to play catch-up when a climatic scene or episode is on by asking someone who's immersed into the show about what details they missed.
I can't name many folks who remain in this category for long, as most quickly fall into the aforementioned group of critics/skeptics or the following clique after scoping a few episodes.
- The Avid-Viewer / Enthusiast / Raving Fanatic
You know 'em. People that are constantly theorizing about the clues and developments LOST constantly teases them with. The cat that remembers that during Sun & Jin's first flashback and a news report of Hurley winning the lottery was on a TV in the background in someone's house episodes before it was revealed in Hurley's own flashback. Those who visit and contribute to Lostpedia on a daily basis. Fans that can wax on for hours about if the island is Atlantis or Avalon or who can compare and contrast the origin stories or John Locke and Ben Linus and how much they parallel. No matter what happens, there's very little besides the Grim Reaper that will sway them from seeing LOST to the end, attempting the unveil the mystery of the Island before the writers inevitably do.
Color me hopeless, but I guess it isn't hard to figure out where I stand when it comes to the four groupings. I'm an addict for masochistic shows like this whether it be live TV series, Anime, or Manga - especially when it is a serial. Coming from the viewpoint of an aspiring writer, LOST intrigues me more so on the way story is told, how the overall plot reveals and once it reaches it's final season, the pay-off when the threads that have been woven finally weave together into the full picture.
In the beginning, I'm sure a great deal of the disenchanted became fed up with this show when it became less apparent that the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 were finding rescue anytime soon and more so about the great unknown that they had crashed landed into the middle of. In the first two seasons where we were challenged with more questions than answers, not to mention the inconsistency of ABC's grueling schedule for LOST back then, I honestly don't blame those that jumped ship. And then there was the beginning half of Season 3, and while it was very character driven (something I absolutely dig), it was painfully slow and was the nail in the coffin for many viewers who were looking for some kind of payoff after watching it for this long. Even the series' head writers admit that while they've always known how the show would end, fleshing out the details out the middle act had caused the show to move at a snail's pace for a period. If it wasn't for another similar series on a competing network, I don't think LOST wouldn't have got the shot of adrenaline it needed to speed up again and finally get back on track.
When hordes of viewers tuned out of LOST and into it's faster-paced and spiritual cousin, "Heroes", Cuse & Lindelof realized their folly and revamped their own show with a faster pace, yet keeping it just as compelling. I'm not a big follower of "Heroes", but I'm more than grateful to Tim Kring for sparking the creative fires the the creative team at Bad Robot and as a result it ramped up the latter half of season three and kept the entire 4th season moving at a breakneck pace all the way to last night's season finale.
LOST cites and draws many influences and references to people in history as well as many forms of fiction, which is another reason I've come to enjoy it so much. Some are obvious, such as the books read, mentioned, and spied on shelves in the background, not to mention the different songs played for dramatic effect in the series, leaving it up to us to decipher if they only dress a scene or foreshadow something that will happen in a character's story arc in that (or a future) episode. What tickles me pink though is all the other media it either reminds me of or might draw inspiration from, such as:
- Comics: Given the fact that the show is loved by many folks in the industry and a great deal of episodes penned by actual comic book writers, many of the persona archetypes in LOST are founded in many well-known & beloved comic book characters.
(Wolverine = Sawyer, for example. Just ask Neo ^_^)
- Manga: On the subject of Comics, I'm certain that some of the writers are paying homage to at least one of two manga series, if not more. The non-linear narrative that LOST is famous for is also the driving plot device for "20th Century Boys", and I'll be damned if not at least one writer on the staff hasn't had any exposure to the pure awesomeness which is that manga. LOST even boasts the same "ragtag-ensemble-cast-slash everyone-is-connected" dynamic that is featured in "20CB" and the "reluctant leader"-type main character whose molded by the events swirling around him.
("Kenji = Jack", although this might be more of a stretch than "Sawyer = Logan").
- Video Games: This might be jumping the shark spotted at the beginning of season two, you gotta' admit some of the moments in seasons 1 & 2 (especially the "Dharma Initiative") are very reminiscent of story elements featured in the "Resident Evil" series.
(You know like the hatches, how they acquired weapons and...alright, maybe I'm the only one who thought that. Thanks to that deranged comparison, I was waiting all of season one for zombies to show up.)
Of course, this diatribe is nothing more than my over-inflated opinion which is open for dissection and debate and I'm sure at least one part of it will be. All I can ask is for those who haven't really watched it yet - DON'T. No unless you want to endure the torture of waiting week-to-week and season-to-season until this series ends in 2010. From watching anime, you'll already be accustomed to watching serials, but if your the type that digs watching your series in straight shots, by all means, I'd wait until the final season is airing at least, then Tivo/DVR the most recent episodes while borrowing someone else's DVD collection of the series and getting caught up just in time for the series finale. It'll probably take you all of those weeks just to watch all of Seasons 1-5 anyway.
As for those initially soured by LOST, I can only urge you to give the show another spin when it completes it's run either by starting over or picking up where you left off. My initial impressions of some shows I only happen to glance originally (like "Code Geass" & "G Gundam") ended up dead wrong when I gave them another viewing and now I curse myself for dragging my feet as long as I did. Maybe when the show reaches the point where it shifts into full gear, some of the spark that originally drew you into LOST just might ignite again.
Just like I said earlier, color me hopeless.
- The Non-interested / Uninitiated:
Those who know about the show vaguely or have no knowledge of the series at all. Those who fall into the former category are either not keen at all about a show like this and haven't been enticed to check it out at all.
(Oddly enough, during the airing of Season 1, I fit right into that category. Knowing next to nothing LOST, I didn't have much interest in watching what I thought was nothing more than "Castaway: The Series". Only after Season 2 had begun and I had the S1 DVD set thrown into my lap did I give it a fair shake and I soon realized that my first impressions of the show was way off.)
- The Jaded / Bored / Frustrated:
Those who had given the show a chance, either from the beginning or jumped into some episodes while the show was in full swing only to become turned-off for one of many valid/understandable reasons. Many reasons have already been stated: plot pacing, enigmatic elements, stingy reveals (at least in the beginning), non-linear narrative, red herrings, and keeping track of how everything connects as each episode progresses. Most of these folks have long since lost interest in LOST as a result and very little could probably be done to rekindle their interest, especially to those who didn't expect this show to go the route it did or run this long.
Until I started watching LOST, I had no idea that the storyline was such of an enigma, although it's slightly less now than when it began. I was already a sucker for mysteries, more so in novel or manga form, and ironically I had finished Naoki Urasawa's "Monster" and was reading his "20th Century Boys" around the time I finally started Season One in late 2005. To come across a TV series just as compelling as those mangas at that time was a rare stroke of luck for someone like me who hasn't been this hooked on a broadcast live-action series since "Star Trek: The Next Generation" ended in 1994. The void in my couch-potato soul was soon filled again when I soon became addicted in by this damn show.
- The Casual Viewer:
Probably, the smallest of the four groups. Basically those who watch on occasion with their more LOST-fanatical friends or check it if there's nothing else to watch when flipping through the channels. Most are on the fence about watching the show in it's entirety and are more resigned to play catch-up when a climatic scene or episode is on by asking someone who's immersed into the show about what details they missed.
I can't name many folks who remain in this category for long, as most quickly fall into the aforementioned group of critics/skeptics or the following clique after scoping a few episodes.
- The Avid-Viewer / Enthusiast / Raving Fanatic
You know 'em. People that are constantly theorizing about the clues and developments LOST constantly teases them with. The cat that remembers that during Sun & Jin's first flashback and a news report of Hurley winning the lottery was on a TV in the background in someone's house episodes before it was revealed in Hurley's own flashback. Those who visit and contribute to Lostpedia on a daily basis. Fans that can wax on for hours about if the island is Atlantis or Avalon or who can compare and contrast the origin stories or John Locke and Ben Linus and how much they parallel. No matter what happens, there's very little besides the Grim Reaper that will sway them from seeing LOST to the end, attempting the unveil the mystery of the Island before the writers inevitably do.
Color me hopeless, but I guess it isn't hard to figure out where I stand when it comes to the four groupings. I'm an addict for masochistic shows like this whether it be live TV series, Anime, or Manga - especially when it is a serial. Coming from the viewpoint of an aspiring writer, LOST intrigues me more so on the way story is told, how the overall plot reveals and once it reaches it's final season, the pay-off when the threads that have been woven finally weave together into the full picture.
In the beginning, I'm sure a great deal of the disenchanted became fed up with this show when it became less apparent that the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 were finding rescue anytime soon and more so about the great unknown that they had crashed landed into the middle of. In the first two seasons where we were challenged with more questions than answers, not to mention the inconsistency of ABC's grueling schedule for LOST back then, I honestly don't blame those that jumped ship. And then there was the beginning half of Season 3, and while it was very character driven (something I absolutely dig), it was painfully slow and was the nail in the coffin for many viewers who were looking for some kind of payoff after watching it for this long. Even the series' head writers admit that while they've always known how the show would end, fleshing out the details out the middle act had caused the show to move at a snail's pace for a period. If it wasn't for another similar series on a competing network, I don't think LOST wouldn't have got the shot of adrenaline it needed to speed up again and finally get back on track.
When hordes of viewers tuned out of LOST and into it's faster-paced and spiritual cousin, "Heroes", Cuse & Lindelof realized their folly and revamped their own show with a faster pace, yet keeping it just as compelling. I'm not a big follower of "Heroes", but I'm more than grateful to Tim Kring for sparking the creative fires the the creative team at Bad Robot and as a result it ramped up the latter half of season three and kept the entire 4th season moving at a breakneck pace all the way to last night's season finale.
LOST cites and draws many influences and references to people in history as well as many forms of fiction, which is another reason I've come to enjoy it so much. Some are obvious, such as the books read, mentioned, and spied on shelves in the background, not to mention the different songs played for dramatic effect in the series, leaving it up to us to decipher if they only dress a scene or foreshadow something that will happen in a character's story arc in that (or a future) episode. What tickles me pink though is all the other media it either reminds me of or might draw inspiration from, such as:
- Comics: Given the fact that the show is loved by many folks in the industry and a great deal of episodes penned by actual comic book writers, many of the persona archetypes in LOST are founded in many well-known & beloved comic book characters.
(Wolverine = Sawyer, for example. Just ask Neo ^_^)
- Manga: On the subject of Comics, I'm certain that some of the writers are paying homage to at least one of two manga series, if not more. The non-linear narrative that LOST is famous for is also the driving plot device for "20th Century Boys", and I'll be damned if not at least one writer on the staff hasn't had any exposure to the pure awesomeness which is that manga. LOST even boasts the same "ragtag-ensemble-cast-slash everyone-is-connected" dynamic that is featured in "20CB" and the "reluctant leader"-type main character whose molded by the events swirling around him.
("Kenji = Jack", although this might be more of a stretch than "Sawyer = Logan").
- Video Games: This might be jumping the shark spotted at the beginning of season two, you gotta' admit some of the moments in seasons 1 & 2 (especially the "Dharma Initiative") are very reminiscent of story elements featured in the "Resident Evil" series.
(You know like the hatches, how they acquired weapons and...alright, maybe I'm the only one who thought that. Thanks to that deranged comparison, I was waiting all of season one for zombies to show up.)
Of course, this diatribe is nothing more than my over-inflated opinion which is open for dissection and debate and I'm sure at least one part of it will be. All I can ask is for those who haven't really watched it yet - DON'T. No unless you want to endure the torture of waiting week-to-week and season-to-season until this series ends in 2010. From watching anime, you'll already be accustomed to watching serials, but if your the type that digs watching your series in straight shots, by all means, I'd wait until the final season is airing at least, then Tivo/DVR the most recent episodes while borrowing someone else's DVD collection of the series and getting caught up just in time for the series finale. It'll probably take you all of those weeks just to watch all of Seasons 1-5 anyway.
As for those initially soured by LOST, I can only urge you to give the show another spin when it completes it's run either by starting over or picking up where you left off. My initial impressions of some shows I only happen to glance originally (like "Code Geass" & "G Gundam") ended up dead wrong when I gave them another viewing and now I curse myself for dragging my feet as long as I did. Maybe when the show reaches the point where it shifts into full gear, some of the spark that originally drew you into LOST just might ignite again.
Just like I said earlier, color me hopeless.
Soul Bro Ryu
http://www.Gundamn.net
http://About.me/SoulBroRyu
Xbox Live: Soul Bro Ryu
PSN: Soul_Bro_Ryu
http://www.Gundamn.net
http://About.me/SoulBroRyu
Xbox Live: Soul Bro Ryu
PSN: Soul_Bro_Ryu
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Fritz Ashlyn
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The influence of American style comic books is interesting to me because it seems that many fans I know are/were comic readers. Maybe sticking with a comic for a big part of its run prepares a person to "put up with" the long, sometimes drawn-out way LOST progresses.
I'd add another category somewhere in there -
The Stubborn/Resentful who missed the boat on watching LOST from the start, and now deliberately refuse to have anything to do with the show. Maybe this isn't as common as I think, but I'll be damned if I haven't run into a lot of passive-aggressive anti-LOST people who act that way seemingly because they 'missed out'.
I'd add another category somewhere in there -
The Stubborn/Resentful who missed the boat on watching LOST from the start, and now deliberately refuse to have anything to do with the show. Maybe this isn't as common as I think, but I'll be damned if I haven't run into a lot of passive-aggressive anti-LOST people who act that way seemingly because they 'missed out'.
TftF Wiki
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RPG Trinary: Ortega
Die Anti-brutale Kraft: Fritz Ashlyn
Hey! why don't you swing on down to the RPG section? Tales from the Frontlines: The AEUG running strong since 2006!
TftF One Shots
RPG Trinary: Ortega
Die Anti-brutale Kraft: Fritz Ashlyn
Hey! why don't you swing on down to the RPG section? Tales from the Frontlines: The AEUG running strong since 2006!
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Nightwing03
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Well, i've loved LOST from the just watching the first episode, now as the episodes progress my curiosity grows. I'm still wondering what that 4 toed giant statue is of. I really like the flashbacks since it reveals the character's past. ANd plus, all those random monsters and events are really cool like how the island actually heals people O_O
♣♦♠♥
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hawk of endymion
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Re: LOST - The Official Thread
Boooo!Soul Bro Ryu wrote:Well I looked and since I didn't find one in here, I thought I'd light the wick on this stick of dynamite and gauge who here loves (and hates) the ongoing TV series "LOST", seen domestically in the US on ABC.
Personally, I love the show, but if you ask Neo, he'll tell you it's one of the worst shows in creation. Tonight is the finale of the 4th season and I can't wait to get home from work to watch it.
What's your thoughts on where the series is going, or just your opinions on the show? Love it or hate it if you want, but if all else discuss why.
And awayyyyyyyyyy we go! ^_^
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The Yoshiyuki Tomino School of Film.
"You draw'em, we kill'em!"
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The Admiral + Flashlight = Dead Robo
B.A., M.A., PhD,
The Yoshiyuki Tomino School of Film.
"You draw'em, we kill'em!"
[email protected]
PSN/XBOX Live: NeoLorroke