Looking back on Lost, and why I liked it

johnny_ultimate

I remember watching the pilot of Lost and instantly being drawn into the world. In school the next day (yeah, school - it amazes me that Lost has seen me through the last two years of school as well as my entire college degree!) I remember discussions resolved around important issues such as 'polar bears OMG!' and how hot Kate was (although I always thought Claire held her own too in the first few seasons).

Six years later, and a 100 or so hours later, I got up at 5AM to watch the finale. I've discussed that enough in other threads, but I thought it was a brilliant conclusion to the show. Lost was the only series I've seen through in real-time on television. Yeah, I'd possibly put others above it quality wise - the Wire springs to mind - but I've caught up with them later on DVD. Lost I always watched on television, watching it like a serial with ads and seasons breaks like the creators intended. It's a bit of a shock that it's finally over, but I'm happy that it went out well (or not, as many are sure to argue). In any case, time to figure out why exactly I found it such compelling television for six seasons.

The mysteries: I'm going to write about characters in a minute, but for at least the first few seasons it was the downright weirdness of the island that kept me tuning in. This is a show that knew how to do cliffhangers - the end of season one, with that long shot down the hatch, was a painful few months wait! The minute to minute shocks and surprises were definitely an important part of Lost's appeals. The scene from Lost I consider the most memorable was when they nearly but not quite didn't enter the numbers into the computers. That was intense television - the bat**** insanity that briefly followed (wait, Hieroglyphs!!!???) totally justified the build-up. Yeah, the answer of what it did may ultimately have been an anti-climax (although overall important) but man the minute to minute thrills and cliffhangers of Lost - the season finales in particular were masterful scene-setters, particularly the season 3 shock - were damn fine entertainment.

The characters: I think I only realised how much I had invested in the characters of Lost in the final few episodes, when I realised I just wanted to see these people get a happy ending as opposed to every last mystery being solved. Over the years, there were plenty of dull moments - season 3 had a hell of a lot of flash-backs that simply re-threaded old ground. Yet the writers put endless time into exploring these people, and ultimately helped the audience invest in them. There were some brilliant poignant moments throughout all six series - Charlie's death, just as he had finally won Claire over, Desmond reuniting with Penny on the boat, the Locke wheelchair reveal, countless others. TV has the benefit of devoting time film doesn't have to expanding on characters and their backstories. Lost used elaborating on characters as a constant narrative device, so the characters' motivations were always perfectly understandable, if often rubbed in a bit too much. When the characters all had their moments of reunion and revelation in 'The End', well they deserved it. Not only that, but characters were often used to enhance and build on the mythology - the Constant springs to mind as a series highlight, one which built upon Desmond as well as helping expand the Lost universe.

Comedy:it's easy to forget Lost was sometimes really funny. Remember when they suddenly introduced a random doctor called Artz only to blow him up a few episodes later in an hilarious punch-line? Brilliant. Hurley and Sawyer always provided light-hearted relief in the face of danger, plus can't forget the fantastic one-liner dispenser Lapidus.

The mythology: Few shows have created such a profoundly rich, interesting world. The island had so much history - statues dating from millenia ago. There were subcommunities - Dharma and the Others primarily - and all groups had their own little internal tensions and drama. The history of the island was slowly fed to us over the seasons, and it created a world the audience could buy into.

The community: 40,000 views of the finale thread here? What other programme had countless websites, fans and discussion boards hanging on every episode, discussing every little detail and trying to figure out what was going on. Lost defined how effective community can be in enhancing a television show. I've lost count of how many times I've consulted Lostpedia to refresh my memory about who was who.

The flaws: There were plenty of flaws with Lost. The redundant flash-backs, the filler (thank **** for the reduced episode seasons from series 4 onwards!), the occasionally disappointing solutions to mysteries, little niggling inconsistencies. Lost was far from perfect, but sometimes the flaws reminded you of what was good about the show when it was great (which was regularly). And how great was it when they misleaded us with a bad episode only to throw in an absolute curve ball of an episode a week later?

What I've realised about Lost in the heated discussions about the finale is that I totally bought into the universe. They didn't provide the answers some wanted, but I honestly feel there weren't answers because they weren't needed. This was a science-fiction world, one in which both the characters and the audience was asked to suspend disbelief and accept the new reality that was presented to them. The island was simply a magical place, one in which traditional logic and science wasn't always relevant. What was it, many have been asking since yesterday? Maybe the point is that we can't say what it was, because know one even within the universe knows exactly what it was or why it was. Jacob's adopted mother came closest to describing it - it may have been everything, a force we can't quite comprehend but one which the characters realised had to be protected.

It's easy to forget how much the writers have revealed over the years - we have a general idea why the hatch was there, what was in it, why the polar bears were about (Dharama experiments), what the black smoke was, who the others were, who Jacob is, what the numbers roughly represent, what the whispers were how the plane crashed etc... These were huge mysteries answered over the years, not always satisfactorily, but they were there.

Others weren't answered - why did the numbers bring bad lucks, what was up with Walt, why could Hurley and Miles hear the dead etc... Countless questions. But, like Locke, maybe we're just meant to have faith. No-one can answer all these questions, perhaps we're just meant to accept them. We don't question why there are Wookies in the Star Wars universe, there just are. This is the same with Lost - this is science-fiction, things don't obey the rules we're used to, ultimately we just have to run with it. The Island was special, we can't describe why, going by the ample evidence I think we can safely assume it just was magical.

Overall, what Lost created was a universe I loved spending an hour in every week. It was full of action, emotion, comedy and mystery. Most of all, it was just great entertainment.

JDee

Thats one of the best posts Ive read in 6 years of checking this forum. You have summed up and reminded me of just how much I loved this show. And how much I'll miss it.

Thank you

johnny_ultimate

JDee wrote: »

Thats one of the best posts Ive read in 6 years of checking this forum. You have summed up and reminded me of just how much I loved this show. And how much I'll miss it.

Thank you

Yeah, it'll be weird not having another season of Lost come next January, but for me it ended at the right time. There were bits in season six (and season three) when I was concerned that it wouldn't end well, but I think the story has been told, and am glad it's finished now. I'm not sure if there'll be another TV show in the forseeable future that will provide such weekly thrills.

cooker3

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Comedy:it's easy to forget Lost was sometimes really funny. Remember when they suddenly introduced a random doctor called Artz only to blow him up a few episodes later in an hilarious punch-line? Brilliant. Hurley and Sawyer always provided light-hearted relief in the face of danger, plus can't forget the fantastic one-liner dispenser Lapidus.

Nice report. I think this in particular in a much under-rated aspect of the show. Lost can be pretty damn funny and funnier than some sitcoms I have watched. I feel like this is something other drama shows like V,flashforward etc could really do with.

I'd also respectively add Michael Giacchino/the music to the list.