Friday 19 March 2010

Lost in Lost

Is it just me or is everyone else still totally confused about what the hell is going on in the TV series, Lost?
Who knew all those years ago that the show had probably been given the most appropriate title of all time?
Lost are the audience wondering what the hell is going on from one week to the next
And Lost are the hours we have spent watching the stupid programme and we are never going to get back.
I started watching because I was very lucky to go on a work trip to a special screening of the first episode at the Channel 4 building in London (they have a cinema in their basement…what a place to work). Back then, the show was new and different, and we all left feeling as if we'd had some kind of epiphany, a bit like how I imagine Mr G felt the first time he watched HDTV (I wouldn't know as I think it looks EXACTLY THE SAME).
Anyway, series one passed without too much upset. Yes, there were a couple of polar bears lurking about in the jungle, and yes Claire did disappear for about 4 episodes and for at least three of them nobody mentioned it. But for the most part, I was looking forward to discovering how the writers planned on tying up all the loose ends and explaining away all these strange happenings.
And it wasn't just me, there was even national debate about what the twist would be. Were they all dead? Were they part of a scientific experiment?
A couple of series in, I missed an episode or two and got confused when I tried to catch up again, so for a long while I didn't watch it. Then someone kindly lent me the box set and I spent a long weekend with one eyebrow permanently raised attempting to get back up to speed. It was at this point that Mr G wisely stopped watching. When we thought there was going to be a mind-bending but still plausible explanation to it all, he didn't mind it, but now he declared that it had all started getting a bit "ridiculous".
I on the other hand, was too far in to give up now. I had invested hours watching this show so I had to find out the fate of the Oceanic 6. Or was it 9? Or was it 12?
I knew I had been wasting my time when Mr G, who by at this point had missed about 4 entire series, watched an episode with me and asked "Are they the others?" about every character who came on screen, or "well what year is it supposed to be now?" (my standard answer during this interrogation was "I don't KNOW!") and then had to explain to me what was going on at the end.
So here we are, in the final series. We've had time travel, people coming back from the dead, Jin learning fluent English… and there seem to be even more questions than answers. Oh and Claire's back now. I don't think anyone really missed her. They're probably too busy staring at the truly awful wig she's sporting.

I predict it will all have been a bad dream…

2 comments:

  1. 1. I too agree about the HDTV, I can't tell the difference either!

    2.I have never watched lost, but have been watching flash forward, which returns tonight (after a really long break in the middle of the series!) this also started out as a brilliant show, but have a feeling it's going to go down the same route as lost and all become a bit ridiculous, but as I want to know the outcome I will have to continue the journey, but I hate anything that drags on and then leaves everything still muddled! I find I lose sleep over it because all the loose ends irritate me!!! ; )

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  2. I think it's quite common for these big budget American shows to milk it for as long as possible, but they end up ruining it.
    Watched Lost on Friday and am even more confused now than I was last week!

    Thanks for the tip-off about Flash Forward, I was going to give that a whirl but I'll avoid it now! x

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