Friday, January 05, 2007

Lost Cause

A friend just wrote me asking if it'd be worth his while to catch up on Lost. He wants to know if the pay-off to the mystery of the show is worthwhile, no good, or too early to say. Here's what I wrote:

I think it's too early to say, but it's worth it anyway. Some complain--both fans and haters--that the show never answers anything. This is simply wrong. The problem is, so far, whenever they answer a question, they raise five more. (I've heard there's a website with a running count of all the unanswered questions.)

I think everyone would agree that, so far, most of the biggest questions have not been answered. Of course, 1) we're only two seasons and six episodes in, which is almost certainly less than halfway--can you imagine a mystery novel that answers all the questions at this point? and 2) if the producers gave a lot more answers, it would be momentarily exciting but would soon destroy interest.

What people like about the show, aside from the overall mystery, is the strong characters, the mood, and the plot twists. These work even when you don't get ultimate answers.

From the start there's been talk the producers are making it up as they go along. I doubt it. They claim they know the destination, just not every stop along the way. Enough things tie together that this makes sense. However, even I have criticized from the start that since Lost is open-ended--no one knows how long it'll be on--it makes the show less tight than it might be. I mean, no matter what else you think of the show, the master plan is not as structured as the five-year blueprint for Babylon 5.

Furthermore, there are signs of improvising along the way. I do think they know the general outline, but I bet they don't even know which characters are going to make it. Certain storylines and characters seem to be picked up and dropped in ways that, if not arbitrary, at least show a bit of slack. I wish, regardless of the show's popularity, that they would declare they'll be done after five or six or even seven seasons, so they can make sure every episode fits into place and moves the overall arc forward.

One thing we still don't know (will we ever?) is if events can be explained through natural means. Occasionally, by the way, I feel they put in certain bits to respond to viewer complaints, or desires.

Because I like (most of) the characters and am invested in the complex story, I can put up with what I consider minor problems. As for the mysteries, they'll be answered eventually. Until then, I'll just enjoy the ride.

I even like the flashbacks.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've watched from the beginning and I'll continue to watch - for now - because "Lost" continues to be one of the best written shows on television. They try things (especially structurally) other shows won't even attempt. They take risks and I appreciate that, even if a particular beat ends up as a big swing and a miss instead of a home run.

Having said that...

I'm one of the people who is beginning to feel a sense of unease about too much complication, not enough explanation. Of course, I don't want them to just blurt out the bottom line, but there could be more of a concurrent gameplan, i.e., complicate a little, tell a little, with the complications always a bit ahead of the explanations - instead of WAY ahead, which is where I fear they are now.

The bottom line for me is that I feel a growing unease, even exasperation, at the growing tangle of story threads.

But I'm still watching - for now.

Todd

P.S. As for the Ultimate Explanation, I'm of the school of thought that there's NO WAY they could possibly explain the goings-on in a "natural" or real world way. Magic, precognition, miracles, multiple highly improbable coincidences (whose probabilities don't just add up arithmetically, but multiply geometrically)... no one has ever been able to suggest even a remotely viable real world explanation to me. Probably because, in my opinion, one no longer exists.

Unfortunately, the one explanation that does seem to fit - that of some sort of Purgatory - has been explicitly dismissed by the producers. I'm hoping they'll have the fortitude in the end to do it anyway and just say, "Of course we lied - how else could we string you along?" Otherwise:

I'm lost.

7:38 AM, January 05, 2007  
Blogger ColumbusGuy said...

That kind of lie could be called a "Bushism."

I think they could resolve it with some integrity by having Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette end the series in bed together. This time, though, we'll demand some explicit nudity.

9:10 AM, January 05, 2007  
Blogger Jesse said...

Reminds me of some of the complaints I heard when Twin Peaks was on the air.

11:21 AM, January 05, 2007  
Blogger LAGuy said...

True, but as much as I loved Twin Peaks, they really didn't know where they were going. The bigger problem was they built the thing around a murder mystery, and once it was solved, the show had no real purpose.

12:22 PM, January 05, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

LAGuy certainly speaks for the majority opinion in saying that the murder mystery was by far the best (or the only good) arc in Twin Peaks.

But I have to disagree. I thought the final "White Lodge / Black Lodge" arc -- roughly the last three episodes -- was even better than the Laura Palmer mystery.

These were the only two good arcs in TP, however.

4:18 PM, January 05, 2007  

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