Is Lost a waste of time?

[Ravenseye]

Ok. I didn't start watching Lost from the get go, but my cousin convinced me to watch it. All their reruns have allowed me to catch up and see every episode. Now the DVR records it every Wednesday.

(aside - What's with the 8pm to 9:03pm time for it? I get that they want to lead in to Alias and lose less viewers but it sucks cause West Wing starts at 9pm and so I can't even set the DVR to record both because they overlap. I have to do it by hand if i'm there. Very annoying)

Anyway every week i'm growing more and more disillusioned with the show. It feels like a mystery with not solution. I think of one of my favorite 'mystery' movies...Murder on the Orient Express...Classic movie. Imagine though that it was a television show and had no predetermined end. Every week Poirot questions someone else, maybe some weeks nobody gets questioned..one week all it is is development of a secondary character like Lauren Bacall. You see some of her life before the train trip, and it creates more questions and openings. Nothing is ever solved, just more and more questions, more mysteries. Often a week would be a new mystery emerging, with no solutions to prior mysteries, and maybe a prior mystery is also examined opening up 2 new mysteries from that.

I could go on and on and on and on.

I just don't get the feeling we're every going to get any resolution, and if we do get any resolution my gut says it's going to suck and be disapointing. I might be forgetting something but here are the mysteries that have piled up on the show so far.

Why did the plane crash. Who broadcast the numbers from the radio tower. what is the black rock. what disease got to the boat wreck surviviors. Why wasn't the french woman affected. Who is ethan? Is he alive? Are their others? What is the monster? Where do the polar bears come from? Why is Locke no longer paralyzed? Why are their visible ghosts on the island? What are the whispering voices? What's with the hatch they found? What's special about claires baby?

and on and on and on and on.

So much speculation, not enough answers.

I don't trust J.J Abrams. Alias was almost intresting in the first season with the whole Rambaldi storyline. But I'm getting similiar feelings with lost. Something cool, something interesting, barely touching on it, just enough to keep you hooked, then just ignoring it and it goes away.

So many mysteires on Lost are touched on, or brought up, then freaking ignored like they never happened.

I don't know. I'll finish out the season, but something better start getting resolved. I don't see how I can watch this for multipole years. It'd be better with a set number of episodes like an extended mini-series so you know there will be resolution.

LIke...24 episodes or even 48 episodes, 2 seasons. Have it stated thats' when it'll end, everything will be explained before then....and I don't mean in a everything is explained in a lame 2 hour finale that leaves a bad taste in everyones mouth.

AAARRRRRR.

[lazarus]

1. I'm still holding out hope

Ethan was killed, we saw that.

The Hurley background story explained a lot, with the numbers, etc.

I can spare 45 minutes a week for a while longer, but he best start doing some serious revealing soon. If this turns out to be Fantasy Island or something, I'll be mildly ticked off.

But some answers to your questions:

Why did the plane crash.

We don't know. Hurley thinks it's because of him and the numbers, and the connection is indeed suspicious.

Who broadcast the numbers from the radio tower.

Probably the person or entity drawing everyone to the island.

what is the black rock.

Dunno yet.

what disease got to the boat wreck surviviors.

I don't think there was one (see next question.)

Why wasn't the french woman affected.

I think she went insane and killed them all.

Who is ethan?

Representative of the "others" on the island.

Is he alive?

Charlie shot him dead, and he was buried, so likely not.

Are their others?

Presumably. The crazy Frenchwoman alluded to others.

What is the monster?

I like Charlie's "angry giraffe" idea.

Where do the polar bears come from?

The Arctic. :P

Why is Locke no longer paralyzed?

Because, as he says, everyone gets a new life on the island. We don't know why he was paralysed to begin with.

Why are their visible ghosts on the island?

You mean the Doc's dad? We found out two weeks ago that he's actually alive, and Sawyer met him in Australia.

What are the whispering voices?

Presumably the others.

What's with the hatch they found?

It's an integral part of the mystery, we saw that since the numbers are printed on it.

What's special about claires baby?

It's a month overdue? :D

I'm willing to go for a while longer. I like that it's taking its time. Like you, however, I do demand a resolution of some sort, not some cobbled together crap like the X-Files ended with.

[Ravenseye]

2. See most of your answers are just questions...

...not that I'm complaining, but it's all speculation. Nothing has really been answered.

Why did the plane crash.: As you said...we don't know. At first it was just a plane crash. Then there was speculation that something else was involved. Then we find out about the numbers and Hurley and them also drawing the french woman, and them being on the hatch. No answers. Just more questions. Why did the plane crash becomes...Were the numbers involved? What are the numbers? What is the hatch and why are the numbers on it?

Who broadcast the numbers from the radio tower. "Probably the person or entity drawing everyone to the island." - First we didn't know there was a tower. Then we find out there is a transmission from the french woman, then we find out that she changed the transmission from an older one broadcasting the numbers.

what is the black rock. "Dunno yet." yeah it's mentioned, then not mentioned for weeks, then mentioned again. Nobody seems to care.

what disease got to the boat wreck surviviors. Why wasn't the french woman affected. : I think she went insane and killed them all. - Again more speculation. We have absolutely no idea. First there was no french woman. Then there was a broadcast, then she was there, then she tells stories, thens he's gone, then she's back, and so on. What the hell is going on? No answers only more questions. Was there a disesase? Are there more still alive?

Who is ethan? "Representative of the "others" on the island." Really? How do we know this? What others? Where? Why do they want Claire's baby?

Is he alive? "Charlie shot him dead, and he was buried, so likely not." They treated him as dead for a week, then made a comment about him and the others. If he's really dead...

Are their others? "Presumably. The crazy Frenchwoman alluded to others." - Or did she kill them all? What are the whispers? Are the others ghosts? What about Ethan? Are they related to the french woman in any way? And so on.

What is the monster? "I like Charlie's "angry giraffe" idea." That was good but seriously. What is it? Why does something come around that tears trees out of the ground and the people continue to sunbathe on the beach and play golf afterwards?

Where do the polar bears come from? "The Arctic. :P" Actually I like the whole thing with the kid having powers and he read the comic book with polar bears in it and they appeared...but that raise questions. What are these powers? Where do they come from? Are they significant to them being on the island?

Why is Locke no longer paralyzed? "Because, as he says, everyone gets a new life on the island. We don't know why he was paralysed to begin with." Yeah but what does that mean? New life on the island. Hokum. Was it a mental paralysis? Was his spine knocked into alignemnt? is the island a supernatural place? We don't know.

Why are their visible ghosts on the island? "You mean the Doc's dad? We found out two weeks ago that he's actually alive, and Sawyer met him in Australia." No Jack was bringing the body back. Sawyer met his dad before he died. Or did he? If so what was in the coffin Jack brought back. Even more questions.

What's with the hatch they found? "It's an integral part of the mystery, we saw that since the numbers are printed on it." Is it? More integral than the voices, the others, the black rock or equal? If it's integral why do they keep forgeting about it, or are they taking their time to dig it up. They found it everyone watchign said "What the fuck" and since then they'v ementioned or showed it twice.

What's special about claires baby? "It's a month overdue? :D" I was gonna say that she looks great for being 9 months pregnant. Bet if she has the baby she looks amazing in a bikini within weeks. Or will tha tbe a new mystery? Why doesn't claire have hemeroids after giving birth?

[lazarus]

3. I view it as

being a really stretched out series.

for instance, it's been months and months for us, but only a few weeks for them.

Yeah, they maybe haven't behaved as rationally as we would think, but this is just a group of people. Everytime they try to do something together, they have a disagreement.

I have a feeling that some mysteries will be solved very soon, just to keep up interest. Same thing happened with Carnivale. We were all getting frustrated at more and more mystery, and now things are resolving in a hurry, and it's quite satisfactory.

[Ravenseye]

4. I hope you're right

I do understand that it's stretched out by the backstories and that they've been there maybe a month.

As far as how they act, yeah there is disagreement. There are also a certain number of them just content to sit and wait for a rescue. I just don't see them acting in any way normally. The guy building the boat is semi-rational, but they haven't even taken the time to get a few people to try and circumnavigate the island. They don't even KNOW it's an island. They don't explore, most don't even want to build the boat....they're just sitting there.

I didn't watch Carnivale, but I hope that they start solving some mysteries, and I mean solve them. Not solve a mystery which opens up 2 new mysteries. I mean solve it.

[Enraged_Ape]

5. I call it "Twin Peaks Syndrome"...

when a television show pretends to be weaving some grand mystery, while actually there IS no story and the writers are obviously just pulling stuff out of their asses. The audience spends all their time trying to solve "riddles" and put together "clues" that don't mean jack.

The X-Files fell victim to Twin Peaks Syndrome. Alias has come down with a bad case of it. So far, I think LOST is somehow avoiding it. If you go back and look at older episodes, you see enough foreshadowing to indicate that the writers, at least for the most part, have thought things through.

But I'll wait until the season ends to make my final determination.

[Ravenseye]

6. Twin Peaks Did Spring To Mind

When i was writing initially I thought of mentioning it. A show that builds up mystery after mystery then either plain ignores them, dismisses them, or whatever.

If the season ends with nothing revealed, and just more mystery....I don't know whether I'd watch a second season. I know that for the story to continue they can't answer every question, but they need to solve sort of the phase 1 mystery, which can allow them to open up phase 2. If they still just lumber along, I'll probably give up in disgust.

[imenja]

11. you may very well be right

I don't think Abrahm's had a real story arc in mind when he created the show. He seems to be making it up as he goes along. And character development is well and good, but he's not devoting enough attention to the story of the island and how it all ties together.

[Chovexani]

7. It's not.

As always, this is a subjective thing, but I can't help but agree with a guy that wrote into Matt Roush's TV Guide column today. He pointed out that people who get impatient with shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives, etc. and want all the answers NOW should remember what happened with Twin Peaks. That was a show whose entire premise was a mystery and when it was solved too soon the show suffered and jumped the sharks.

Patience, grasshoppa. :D

[Ravenseye]

8. Yeah, but.....uh.....well.....maybe no

I don't them to wrap everything up. I just want them to wrap SOMETHING up.

A good mystery doesn't keep opening more and more questions. It starts witha big question, traditionally a 'whodunit', and then starts exploring. As it explores it opens new mysteries within mysteries. Ok good so far.

However I think the key to a good mystery is that it doesn't leave too many open holes. After a few sub-mysteries are opened, they should close previous ones, while perhaps opening new ones.

I don't want a full reveal anytime soon with Lost. That would suck even more. What I want is some sort of resolution to ANY question. Just any one. Pick one. Resolve it.

Otherwise we're not learning anything, just getting more confused and more confused.

One of the reasons I didn't like Twin Peaks is that it opened up mystery after mystery, hardly solving anything, and then tied it all up quick in a bullshit way.

Lost is tracking in that direction. They need some resolution of the underlying questions so we can feel involved, otherwise they're going to lose viewers in a major way in season 2.

[Chovexani]

9. I think we'll have to agree to disagree

Lost isn't like Twin Peaks because, unlike the Twin Peaks TPTB, J.J. Abrams and Co. have made it abundantly clear that they know exactly where this story's going.

I like not being handed things on a silver platter when I watch tv. It's one of the reasons I love shows like Carnivale. Lost makes me think, which is why it's one of the only shows on network tv that's worth watching. I would hate to see this show end up like a lot of other cult shows, and end up dumbing things down just to get ratings *cough*Alias*cough*.

IMO cries of "we want to know stuff!" are far, far too premature. We're not even done with the first season yet, and it's been stated many, many times that they have still only been on the island for a few weeks. We haven't even gotten into the meat and potatoes of the story yet.

[Goblinmonger]

12. I'm with Chovexani

I get very fed up with the ADD culture we live in. I like the ability to watch an episode, mull it over for a week or so, and then watch another episode and add that information to the mix. Think about things for a little while.

I feel sorry for all your significant others ;-) Foreplay's a good thing :blush:

[imenja]

10. I'm frustrated with the show

First off, all the reruns are ridiculous. It shouldn't be allowed in a show where the plot continues from a episode to another. Secondly, the story is moving far too slowly. We aren't learning enough about what is going on with the island. This week's episode with Locke was a very good one, but the previews seem to indicate they will again forget all about the hatch for who knows how many episodes. If they don't develop some better continuity, I'm taking it off my TIVO.