Lost

[Ryan Plott]

Am I the only one who doesn't understand why so many people get emotionally invested in this show? Almost my entire Facebook feed is full of people who are sad, happy, or angry about these concluding episodes. It's like they're sending out crack cocaine through the airwaves or something. I don't remember this happening with other shows, but maybe I don't watch enough tv drama to understand. Can anyone enlighten me?


(btw, my theory is at the end they won't explain everything and will literally leave you "lost". just throwing that out there.)

[Shea Zellweger]

I never really got into the show, because I had various nighttime activities during its formative years. When I finally decided to give it a try, the plot was far too developed for me to understand what was going on, but since I recall people talking about them trying desperately to get off the island in the beginning, and by the time I tuned in there were people trying to get back on the island, and there was something about a button that could reset time... I decided it was probably not worth my time trying to figure out. Maybe some day.

[David Graham]

I watched one episode, and hated it! I've never watched it since, in fact I'd much rather sit down and watch grass grow.

I personally put it alongside of the "Survivor" series and Soap Operas in my most detested Television Programme basket.

[Ryan Plott]

I never really got into the show, because I had various nighttime activities during its formative years. When I finally decided to give it a try, the plot was far too developed for me to understand what was going on, but since I recall people talking about them trying desperately to get off the island in the beginning, and by the time I tuned in there were people trying to get back on the island, and there was something about a button that could reset time... I decided it was probably not worth my time trying to figure out. Maybe some day.

Maybe that's my problem. I find almost all TV shows impossible to watch that aren't on a dvd format.(excluding SportsCenter and the Colbert Report which I watch faithfully) Maybe I should just set some time aside to watch the early shows.

[Jeff Scott]

I felt the same way about the show. I decided to give it one more shot and watched the entire first two episodes. Then I was hooked. (I had previously given up on episode 1.) I consider it my favorite show, though I wouldn't say I'm emotionally invested. Two characters that have been part of the show since the very 1st episode were "written off" last night. It was difficult not to feel emotion when their part in the show came to an unfortunate end.

Every season is available online at Netflix. I recommend watching the first two episodes in full before you tune it out. If you still don't like it, just be glad it brings entertainment to your friends.

[Greg Farra]

I'm not emotionally invested either, but I've seen almost every episode. I find it an interesting diversion from reality, a way to relax. I missed Tuesday's episode, so I'll have to watch it online. I'm really curious now after Jeff's comments!

[Jeremy D. Scott]

We had a great thread going BC about Lost.

I love the show. It's a breath of fresh air from the rest of the "drama" on television. I find that CSI, Law & Order, etc. are the same episode over and over with slightly different details. There's been nothing like Lost and we look forward to it each week. Do I get "happy" or "sad" from it? I doubt that many actually do. It's just the way that FB statuses go.

[Jeremy D. Scott]

I felt the same way about the show. I decided to give it one more shot and watched the entire first two episodes. Then I was hooked. (I had previously given up on episode 1.) I consider it my favorite show, though I wouldn't say I'm emotionally invested. Two characters that have been part of the show since the very 1st episode were "written off" last night. It was difficult not to feel emotion when their part in the show came to an unfortunate end.

It was actually three characters...but the first one was overshadowed by the two in love.

[David Pettigrew]

Seen every episode, but I'll admit watching it has now become more of a task than a pleasure. Maybe my brain is aging. I'm still intrigued by the theological and philosophical themes. The underlying question of LOST is this - do we have a choice, or is everything predetermined?

[Jeff Scott]

It was actually three characters...but the first one was overshadowed by the two in love.

Also because he had it coming. But you have a good point!

[Jon Twitchell]

If you have Netflix, you should instant stream the first couple of episodes. This is NOT a series that you can jump in on in the middle and understand what's going on. It's also not a show that you can miss a week or two and then pick up where you left off. Like 24, LOST is not suitable for casual watching.

A few years back I tried to watch an episode... I was completely... well... LOST. I figured the show just wasn't for me. But at the urging of my brother... and the help of a treadmill... and a TV from a NazNetter... and a ROKU box, I watched the first 5 seasons of LOST since Jan. 1 this year. I loved the show. I haven't watched any of Season 6 yet, because they're only streaming the recent 5 episodes... I may even watch through the first 5 seasons again before I finally watch the final season.

I wouldn't say that I'm emotionally connected to the show... but it is the sort of series that requires a level of commitment... and that's what you see reflected in FB statuses.

[Cindi Hammons]

It was actually three characters...but the first one was overshadowed by the two in love.

Oh, I assure you that my daughters were very well aware of his loss!

Actually, there were four, with one being almost missed by me (the bulkhead door exploding inward).

[David Pettigrew]

Is anybody ever really dead on LOST? I'm not grieving anyone, b/c they'll probably be back next week.

[Jeremy D. Scott]

Actually, there were four, with one being almost missed by me (the bulkhead door exploding inward).

Ignore my FB message, I figured out who you're talking about. But he wasn't an original character (on the first episode). But he was around for a while.

[Rich Schmidt]

Oh, I assure you that my daughters were very well aware of his loss!

Actually, there were four, with one being almost missed by me (the bulkhead door exploding inward).

Yeah, but he wasn't part of the original cast. He's always been a minor character. Kind of like the one who blew herself up (accidentally) a couple episodes ago. The other three were major cast members from the beginning.

We just watched it last night on the DVR. The death of the one who "had it coming" felt like a heroic sacrifice. The death of the two in love was... romantically tragic? Definitely sad.

The weird thing right now is that there's some kind of alternate timeline going on, with people who died in one still living in the other. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out!

For anyone just joining in... I agree with the recommendation to watch it from the beginning. Jumping in mid-stream won't work with this one.

[Jeremy D. Scott]

The death of the two in love was... romantically tragic? Definitely sad.

My wife and I immediately thought of the older couple laying together in their bed in Titanic.

While tragic...there's something peaceful and complete about a couple dying together.

[Jeff Scott]

Is anybody ever really dead on LOST? I'm not grieving anyone, b/c they'll probably be back next week.

And this is exactly why you have to start at the beginning. This would make no sense otherwise.

[Marsha Lynn]

Ah... now here is a useful thread. It will save me both hours in front of the television (which ain't gonna happen) and the embarrassment of being totally clueless concerning the show. When someone says something about people dying on Lost this week, I can say something like, "Did you notice three deaths or four?" The other person will then talk at length without need for further input from me and a connection will have been made with only a few minutes investment on my part. This is good. Much better than the alternative possibility of them discovering that I know nothing about the show and persisting on telling me the entire plot from beginning to end as though I cared enough to be fascinated by their synopsis, but not quite enough to actually watch the show for myself.

This is a great side benefit to NazNet. With only a modest time investment I can know just enough to pretend to be knowledgeable on all sorts of topics. Who's in the final four? What's happening in Nashville? How many were ordained in Pakistan? Trivia flowing everywhere with just enough data to say a few words on the topic and then move into listening mode. People rarely notice that my small contribution exhausts my entire knowledge concerning the topic at hand or that all my reference notes cite the same source -- NazNet.com.

[Ryan Plott]

I felt the same way about the show. I decided to give it one more shot and watched the entire first two episodes. Then I was hooked. (I had previously given up on episode 1.) I consider it my favorite show, though I wouldn't say I'm emotionally invested.Two characters that have been part of the show since the very 1st episode were "written off" last night. It was difficult not to feel emotion when their part in the show came to an unfortunate end.

Every season is available online at Netflix. I recommend watching the first two episodes in full before you tune it out. If you still don't like it, just be glad it brings entertainment to your friends.

I've watched the first two seasons and just couldn't get into it. Maybe I'm just not cut out for the show.

[Ryan Plott]

Do I get "happy" or "sad" from it? I doubt that many actually do. It's just the way that FB statuses go.

I suppose, I think I should let you see my FB feed though. It's top to bottom with people complaining about Lost.

[Ryan Plott]

Seen every episode, but I'll admit watching it has now become more of a task than a pleasure. Maybe my brain is aging. I'm still intrigued by the theological and philosophical themes. The underlying question of LOST is this - do we have a choice, or is everything predetermined?

They should read Arminius on that island of theirs.

[Susan Unger]

This is a great side benefit to NazNet. With only a modest time investment I can know just enough to pretend to be knowledgeable on all sorts of topics. Who's in the final four? What's happening in Nashville? How many were ordained in Pakistan? Trivia flowing everywhere with just enough data to say a few words on the topic and then move into listening mode. People rarely notice that my small contribution exhausts my entire knowledge concerning the topic at hand or that all my reference notes cite the same source -- NazNet.com.

I have often thought similarly.

[Glenn Harris]

I've watched the first two seasons and just couldn't get into it. Maybe I'm just not cut out for the show.

I'm with you on that one. I watched the entire 1st season, suffered through the annoying and continuous "flashbacks" (translation - how to make 4 hours of filming cover an entire season), kept waiting to make some sense of it, which never arrived, and then tried the second season, saw it just getting more and more bizzare and figured I had better things to do with my time. Maybe if I'd stuck around for season 3 I would have had an "ah-ha" moment but in one and one half seasons there was no ah-ha, just a "what?"

[Rich Schmidt]

I've watched the first two seasons and just couldn't get into it. Maybe I'm just not cut out for the show.

We all like different stuff. I love science fiction. Some people can't stand it. To each their own.

[Todd Erickson]

At this point, it seems to be heavily recycling. I'm just looking forward to it being over, so that I can see the explanations they've given and mmove on to a better story somewhere.

Like Super 8.

[Billy Cox]

Oh, I assure you that my daughters were very well aware of his loss!

Actually, there were four, with one being almost missed by me (the bulkhead door exploding inward).

yeah yeah, but the fourth was one of those characters you just know is going to be 'bodycount' - a character present in multiple seasons, but never with a featured backstory.

[Billy Cox]

Is anybody ever really dead on LOST? I'm not grieving anyone, b/c they'll probably be back next week.

Haha... Nikki and Paulo were widely hated by fans, and the writers killed them off (buried alive). They ain't coming back.

John Locke is dead, but the man in black has taken his appearance. The other appearances of dead people are either the main in black impersonating them or they are 'ghosts'.

[Billy Cox]

Ah... now here is a useful thread. It will save me both hours in front of the television (which ain't gonna happen) and the embarrassment of being totally clueless concerning the show. When someone says something about people dying on Lost this week, I can say something like, "Did you notice three deaths or four?"

If you want to really bake someone's noodle, just point out that in one fell swoop, LOST killed off all three of the remaining non-white characters.

[Rich Schmidt]

Haha... Nikki and Paulo were widely hated by fans, and the writers killed them off (buried alive). They ain't coming back.

John Locke is dead, but the man in black has taken his appearance. The other appearances of dead people are either the main in black impersonating them or they are 'ghosts'.

So you're not counting the alternate timeline (or whatever it is), huh? Locke is still alive in that timeline, as are characters who died in previous seasons (math whiz scientist, Hurley's girlfriend, etc). Just sayin'.

[Billy Cox]

So you're not counting the alternate timeline (or whatever it is), huh? Locke is still alive in that timeline, as are characters who died in previous seasons (math whiz scientist, Hurley's girlfriend, etc). Just sayin'.

I don't consider an alternate timeline as 'being suddenly alive again.' I do like the alternate timeline because Charlotte is still alive, Libby is still alive, and Charlie is still alive. I think when all is said and done, the alternate timeline will be 'it' and everything else will never have happened.

[Billy Cox]

Am I the only one who doesn't understand why so many people get emotionally invested in this show? ... Can anyone enlighten me?

It's really quite simple. The writing is excellent and the characters have flaws, fears and shortcomings that many people relate to. It doesn't hurt that the acting is top-notch.

(btw, my theory is at the end they won't explain everything and will literally leave you "lost". just throwing that out there.)

Actually, the final episodes will probably explain most everything and provide an ending that is satisfactory to most fans. It helps that the producers of the show (esp. J.J. Abrams) respect the story and the connection that many people in the audience have with the characters.

[Rich Schmidt]

I don't consider an alternate timeline as 'being suddenly alive again.'

I was just thinking of it from a casual viewer's perspective, someone who's not really following the show. It would be easy for them to say, "Wait, I thought that guy was dead. Didn't he die last week?"

I do like the alternate timeline because Charlotte is still alive, Libby is still alive, and Charlie is still alive. I think when all is said and done, the alternate timeline will be 'it' and everything else will never have happened.

My current theory is that the island timeline (the main one of the whole series) will kind of close in on itself and continue in its own little enclosed existence, keeping the evil dude locked away, while the alternate timeline will continue onward as the new reality. The atomic bomb they detonated at the end of last season forked off an alternate reality that is very much real. My hope is that, while the main characters will end the show trapped on the island (to keep the evil dude trapped), they will be able to see the other version of themselves living happily in the new timeline, kind of like the people in the alternate timeline are having "memories" of their life on the island.

Or.... maybe they'll be given the choice of either staying on the island to keep the evil dude trapped or leaving and fully inhabiting the alternate timeline... and one of them will have to choose to stay, missing out on the happy life they could have had. Maybe there's tension between the two timelines that needs to be resolved by them choosing one or the other, and that's why the alternate timeline folks are having those memories -- because they're the same person, split across two timelines, and they need to fully inhabit one or the other.

Who knows. We'll see what ends up happening. But I very much doubt that it will end by saying, "all that island stuff never happened."

[Ryan Plott]

We all like different stuff. I love science fiction. Some people can't stand it. To each their own.

I like sci-fi also. Especially the work of L. Ron Hubbard. Gotta admire a guy who's such a good writer he can start his own religion.(or just refurbishes gnosticism, depending on who you ask)

[Ryan Plott]

It's really quite simple. The writing is excellent and the characters have flaws, fears and shortcomings that many people relate to. It doesn't hurt that the acting is top-notch.



Actually, the final episodes will probably explain most everything and provide an ending that is satisfactory to most fans. It helps that the producers of the show (esp. J.J. Abrams) respect the story and the connection that many people in the audience have with the characters.

I suppose. My FB page would probably melt from all the posts if they didn't explain everything. If I was a writer though, that's how I would end it. And, that would probably explain why I'm not a writer for Hollywood. I like my open endings and never closing the story completely, I guess it's just the Christian in me.

[Cindi Hammons]

Yeah Billy, but we liked him...so we noticed when he was slammed by the bulkhead door!

[Gina Stevenson]

What Marsha Lynn said! [have never watched Lost, either, tho' I tried ... once ... not the whole episode]. And then Billy adds some "necessary" info below, as well ... about those dead folks appearing not as themselves, but ghosts, or being impersonated by someone else -- how about maybe some "flashbacks," or whatever, too?

Haha... Nikki and Paulo were widely hated by fans, and the writers killed them off (buried alive). They ain't coming back.

John Locke is dead, but the man in black has taken his appearance. The other appearances of dead people are either the main in black impersonating them or they are 'ghosts'.

As for the writers ... saw something today that I'd not seen tho' I guess it's not all that new. Didn't even know the name of it until it was over, and credits ran, as I got into it sometime during the first half hour or so: "Stranger than Fiction." Will Farrell was in jeopardy of dying ... he was a "main character" in a writer's book. He kept hearing someone in his head "narrating his life," he met her, and then she rewrote the ending of her book, so he did not die, after all. Yeah, it was "strange," for sure.

Anyway, thanks, guys ... this thread took much less time than watching hours & hours of TV that I didn't get one bit interested in during that less-than-one-episode attempt, and many, many previews they show in ads.