'Lost' ranks as one of my favorite shows ever. I was not someone who watched it from the start. The premise didn't appeal to me so I didn't watch the first several episodes. By the time the buzz started and friends started hyping it up it was too late to start.Friends continued to watch and the buzz continued. The show was frequently in the 'news' in the second season, mostly for bad reasons. Huge breaks in-between new episodes, poor episodes and constant complaints about the writers 'making it up as the went along' (more on that later). This sort of buzz didn't make me want to start watching. Then I moved to Charlotte. I didn't have much of a life when I was there, which meant I had a lot of time on my hands. I started watching at the start of season 3. That's right, I started watching 'Lost' with no background at the start of season 3. It was the season where they did 9 episodes, took a huge break and came back with the remaining episodes.
I watched the 9 episodes and decided I needed to know what was going on. I figured I could watch season 1 and season 2 in the gap between new episodes. I bought them and it took me about 6 days to get through both. I was all in from that point on. It has been a beautiful relationship ever since! Season 1 is one of my favorite single seasons of tv ever. I re-watch it at least twice a year.
There is a common thread between some people who still watch the show, people who never watched the show & people who used to watch and stopped. That common thread being a lot of complaining. I'd like to address the most common complaints I hear.
1. All of the big breaks between new episodes, moving days & times etc. certainly didn't help the series. Certainly valid if people jumped off the band wagon.
2. Season 2 was brutal. If you re-watch season 2 you noticed that very little happens, and that each new episode contained about 7 minutes of stuff you already saw. To be honest if I would have had to watch it as it aired I don't know if I would have stuck with it. Watching it on DVD certainly helped my cause. Season 2 also led to complaint #3.
3. They are making it up as they go along. I encourage any current or past 'Lost' viewer to download Bill Simmons podcast (The BS Report) from May 14th. He interviews Carlton Cuse for about an hour, and he (Cuse) addresses a lot of these things.
He admits that during season 2 and the start of season 3 the writers were spinning their wheels. They did not know how long they had to drag the story out. He said that once they were given the end date during season 3 they could put everything together. The second part of season 3 things really picked up, and ended with the very memorable 'Through the Looking Glass' finale with the flashforward.
As far as making it up he says that they had a framework in place for the story but things change. Some of those things were out of his control. He talks about how they had a long storyline involving Locke and Mr. Eko that would span a few seasons that they couldn't finish because the actor who played Eko wanted off the show. He also talks about how positive the response to Ben's character was. He was slated to only be in 3 episodes. They developed more of a story for him because he was so popular.
The finale is Sunday and I don't know if it can possibly live up to any one's expectations. I believe the people who have spent 6 years researching every little 'sign' in the show and want every single question answered are going to be disappointed. Those who have focused on the characters and their journey will be satisfied (I hope).
