Lost

When the first season of Lost came on, I didn't have time to watch it because of school and work. By the second season I was still busy, and for the third I didn't have television. The fourth and fifth seasons I saw random episodes of, but was so confused by them I didn't watch more. I deduced that one couldn't start in the middle and that eventually I'd have to watch all of it, before the finale. I did the same thing with Battlestar Galactica, and was really glad of it. For someone as lazy and uncommitted to television watching as me, this was a perfect way to watch a series. Not having much else to do with my time has been very helpful in catching up on all the shows I was missing while I was being a productive member of society. And so after years of disdain and avoidance, I've finally spent some time becoming acquainted with the phenomenon that is Lost. I've watched all of it in about a week, and was surprised to find that I liked it.



I finished the fifth season finale just a few hours before the series six premiere, and I'm glad I only had to wait that long. The fifth season ended on a pretty hefty cliffhanger. Not just a "What will happen next?" question, but also a "What will have happened?" question. Even in those couple of hours of pondering I was confounded by all of the possibilities. It was a very smart way to set up the last season, in a way that would open many paths to a resolution. Throughout the series I was impressed by the way the story was both complicated and easy to follow, yet didn't over-explain things or make the viewer feel stupid-- as long as I paid attention. So I'm kind of wary of a final season that promises to explain all the mysteries because I don't want the explanations thrown at me in an obvious and careless way. I've been figuring things out all this time; I want the writers to let everyone figure out the rest of it.

The direction that the writers took in the premiere was enjoyable for me. It seems they're taking every chance that the last finale gave them to finish telling the story. The previous finale could easily have been the beginning of this season. Instead of laying the foundation for an escape from all of the events of previous seasons, it seems that the direction is in more of a circle. The season's started a lot like the series did, yet hasn't pressed a "this has gotten far too silly" reset button. I was more than a little worried about that. Though I do feel that watching from here wouldn't have spoiled much for me if I hadn't watched all the previous seasons. Confusion might have been a bigger issue, but due to its storyline things were pretty consistent. There's a new narrative structure at hand here; instead of showing events in the past or future interspersed with the present, the events are parallel. I've thus far been impressed with the the show's use of time travel. In a lot of cases, time travel is a groan-worthy affair. I believe that it can be a useful plot device as long as a set of rules is picked and stuck with. And as far as I could tell previous seasons have managed to do that. I'm a little curious to see how the current situation will resolve itself within those confines.

So far it's a little sketchy. I found a couple of aspects of the premier unbelievable (for the show according to it's own rules, of course) and hope that things even out. Rips in the space-time continuum are mostly ok with me; then again that might not be the case here. There was also an instance of what I felt was a rather obvious attempt at explanation. It was a little clumsy and too obvious for me, since I'd regarded the mystery in question pretty much solved. Maybe I'm just easier to satisfy than other viewers that the writers were trying to cater to. Another thing that I realized while watching the past seasons was that the writers definitely have been paying attention to the fans. There were more than a few moments of self-awareness that were good sources of comic relief. I'd heard from friends and family that watched the show from the beginning that it was a bit of a bate and switch. At first it's survival, and then it's sci-fi. Some people I know didn't like this, or went along with it before losing interest thinking it just too far fetched, or thought that the writers were just reaching for randomness to keep people interested. I think the creators of the show planned it to be sci-fi all along, and applaud them for tricking so many viewers into making a niche genre mainstream on a network. There have not been enough shows like it.

Throughout the series I was impressed by both the casting and acting. I'm glad they've managed to hang on to and bring back the same actors for roles. I wasn't surprised to find out that some characters had been written specifically for their actors. I really don't know if that's common, but I think it's an awesome idea. The great acting among the cast members really held together the story, even through its harder to follow moments. I don't want this to be a list of things that I don't know, but I also know very little about acting. Pretty much all it takes for me to be impressed is for me to forget who the actor is. Once I've come to associate the person only with the role they're playing, and be fully manipulated by that illusion, then I will think of them as a good actor. So really, when I watch this show there have been very few times when that illusion has been broken. And then those characters die. Though not all characters who have died have been the bad actors.

The premiere felt very long to me, despite my having watched about 100 hours of Lost over the past week. I kept looking at the clock and wondering how time was passing so slowly. Now this week is going to seem overly long. I've not been used to waiting for something to be resolved. A lot of things left open were answered, only in typical Lost fashion to open more. Spending a week idly wondering what the explanations could be is something new to me. Considering everything that I've wondered about in previous episodes being resolved so far, I trust that the few things that made me scratch my head during the premiere will be brought to a conclusion. As to whether I've been sucked into liking this show I suppose I can say that "It worked."