LOST: A Cultural Phenomenon, Part III

What marked the beginning of the end for LOST was season three. Season two ended incredibly strong. I remember watching the finale at least four times one day, gleaning every possible clue to try and figure out what things meant and where the show was going. Suffice to say, it was a low-key summer. I was on LOST boards on a nearly-daily basis, discussing theories with other Losties. I could not wait for the next season to start in the fall. But, boy, was I in for disappointment.

Season three limped through the fall until the winter break. At that point in time, the LOST executives announced that they would wrap the show in 2010. Season three seems to be J.J. Abrams' Achilles heel. ALIAS, starring Jennifer Garner (a lot of movies) and Victor Garber (if you saw him you'd recognize him), also suffered a weak third season as well and slowly tapered to a close after a fifth season.

The primary weakness of the first half of LOST'S third season was that the characters that we loved were separated, and we did not have the dynamic relationship evolution that made the first two seasons strong. The story shifted from what could be considered a primarily internally-driven plot, derived from conflicting objectives and feelings between characters, to an externally-driven plot, where our protagonists had to escape from physical perils.

LOST, remarkably, found redemption after the winter break. They came back strong. Brian K. Vaughn, a fan-favorite in the comics world, and one of the men who helped make season two end so powerfully, was brought back as a co-producer and writer for a few episodes. The characters were brought back together, and more astonishing plot twists were created. As I watched the season finale that year, it was by far the most breath-taking. An incredible twist left viewers salivating for season four, though they would have to wait until the spring season started the next year-- LOST decided that less was more and seasons four through six were slated to have a half-length run starting after the winter break. With a defined endpoint in sight, the producers and writers could now budget the necessary revelations to bring the show to a successful conclusion.

Yet somehow the writers again lost sight of the underlying strengths of the show. I was surprised when I started seasons four and five and found myself being thrown between times and places. Again, conflict was external and our heroes were separated. The problem was that the ensemble was so strong together, but individually, were not particularly remarkable.

Season five made things worse by time-traveling until I half-expected Marty and Doc, and let's not forget our canine pal Copernicus/Einstein, to pop onscreen. LOST definitely forgot why we started watching in the first place. Characterization in the script suffered as well. We were able to predict who did what and why. I still don't understand why the time-traveling was important to the story. Even the characters didn't know.

There was a moment when Hurley and Miles are talking about the time-traveling and continuity (something the audience had been trying to wrap their heads around and something that theoretical physicists can't resolve either) and the only conclusion they are able to come to is that it doesn't make sense. It felt like a cop-out on the part of the writers. And that is not the only time when that was the route the writers took to answer questions. Another time (spoiler alert!) Sun hits her head and understands but cannot speak English. Miles uttered my exact thoughts, "and we're supposed to believe this?"

Despite my critical review in this post, I am still a fan of LOST. I am looking forward to the rest of season six. Two episodes ago there was a literally mind-blowing revelation. It restored my faith in the show to produce further unexpected twists and provide high-quality storylines. Hopefully the show will end on a similar note. In fact, given the publicity, including a competition for fans to create a promo trailer for the finale, we can be sure the show will end strong.

The finale is gonna big! May 23, 2010, 9:00 pm.

BE THERE

LOST: A Cultural Phenomenon, Part II

LOST has achieved somewhat of a cult-icon status. Those who have not been following the show since episode one are hesitant to delve into the LOST experience, while those who have eagerly await every Tuesday night.

To be honest, participating in LOST, and it truly is a participatory experience, requires a lot of time and a lot of active viewing. Every episode of LOST is a breeding ground for discussion afterwards. The writers also leave subtle clues that a casual watcher would miss. LOST requires effort. Those who fail to offer that quite often find that LOST is a disappointing show.

In 2004, this method of storytelling was, for the most part, rare. While shows would occasionally have story arcs that carried over into the next episode, there were hardly any shows that centered their focus on a truly serialized structure.

In addition to ending the show with remarkable cliffhangers, LOST used, to great effect, the technique of flashbacks. Every episode was focused on a particular character, exploring their backstories as they applied to current predicaments. The flashbacks were more often-than-not revelatory. We were surprised to find out just who our characters really were. Often times, we found ourselves looking forward to what we would find out about our favorite characters' histories more than the problems they faced on the island. This was a defining characteristic of LOST.

J.J. Abrams (currently Hollywood's Wunderkind) and Damon Lindelof had grabbed onto of this style proved to Hollywood that it could be successful. Other shows picked up on this and attempted to follow suit, to varying degrees of success (I will review them in later posts).

Don't forget to check out LOST: A Cultural Phenomenon, Part III, where I explore the causes for LOST'S decline in popularity.

Until next time...

LOST: A Cultural Phenomenon, Part I

4-8-15-16-23-42

These numbers have bewildered LOST audiences for years. Finally, as season six of ABC's hit TV show, LOST, viewers are beginning to get some closure. However, fans seem doubtful that all the questions and mysteries amassed over five seasons will be resolved. There simply are too many.

For instance, why did the Dharma Initiative involve polar bears in their experiments? What happened between Ben's joining the "hostiles" as a child and the events of the season three opening episode? Why did the smoke monster kill the pilot of Oceanic 815? These and other more trivial questions are bound to be left lingering in the minds of "Losties" after the undoubtedly-epic series finale in May.

But what can we expect in the finale? What hope have we of ever getting a shred of an idea of what heck is going on? It is safe to assume that the series finale will conclude with the overarching theme of the show-- some revelation that will allow viewers to analyze the show and find their own answers to the questions left hanging. Also, it is highly probable that LOST forums on the Internet will be inundated with discussion, probably for at least six months after the show is done.

This, at least, is my humble opinion.

Tune in to LOST: A Cultural Phenomenon, Part II where we will look at LOST'S unique style of storytelling.

Until later...