Lost
I’ve just finished watching all twenty-five episodes of this series (the season one box set plus last week’s season two opener) over the course of four days, and I can safely say that it’s one of the most intense TV experiences I have ever had. While I resisted the premise for some time — I mean, “a bunch of people stranded on a deserted island” doesn’t exactly scream “original” — it turns out that Lost is nothing like Gilligan’s Island or Survivor. If anything, it’s a worthy successor to Twin Peaks.
Like that other show, Lost isn’t just a stylish character drama. There’s a certain pervasive mystery to the whole thing — a mystery that the viewer is forced to digest from the beginning, before we’re even clear on who all the players are. The show cleverly unfolds each of its dozen or so characters’ (occasionally intertwining) backstories in bite-sized flashbacks throughout the first season, never losing sight of the ongoing conflict in the present. And by the end of the first 24 episodes, we’re left with a large handful of fascinating characters, dealing with stuff that must make some kind of sense, but isn’t quite there yet. (That’s a good thing.)
It has been said that Lost will not suffer the same fate that Twin Peaks or The X-Files did, because its creators have a clear sense of what’s behind the mystery, and where everything is headed, and intend to feed us hints and answers regularly. If that’s the case, however, they’ve done an amazing job of keeping us guessing, because I personally have no clue. You know who also doesn’t have a clue? People on the internet. I’ve read theories ranging from the absurdly fantastical (everyone on the flight died) to the absurdly scientific (it’s all nanites), and none of it really seems to fit. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m content to just sit back and let the show take me where it’s going. I don’t really have any theories just yet. Beyond my belief that everything will ultimately have a rational explanation of some kind, I’m just happy to be along for the ride.
From the opening ten minutes — in which the survivors flee the still-burning wreckage of their plane — the show hits you right in the creeped-out center of your brain. And while I wouldn’t describe the show as exactly “horror,” there are definitely some creepy moments here that top anything I’ve seen in that genre. They also have an excellent sense of pacing, which is why I simply had to blow through all the DVDs so quickly. It’s just one of those constant cliffhanger experiences that compels you to press on and see what happens next.
Thankfully, the second season’s opener seems to have continued this fine tradition, and had me so engaged in the unfolding of one plot that I almost didn’t realize we weren’t even shown the fate of several other characters in a separate dangling thread from last year. By the looks of things, it’s gonna be another great year. I just hate that TV on DVD has spoiled me so much, and now I have to wait for new episodes like a commoner.
Also, Evangeline Lilly is hot. That is all.