ethanamidon-537-786294
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
11 years
Reviews
Lost (2004)
If you care about important questions a show poses being answered, avoid this show!
Since Lost has wrapped up some time ago, I write this review in the hopes that it might have some influence on those that had missed it and want to go back and watch the series. I recently heard someone suggest to a friend that they go back and watch the show, so I feel the need to hit on the main weaknesses that I saw with the show. I preface my review by saying that I have watched almost every single episode of Lost from beginning to end, with the exception of a few episodes in season 5 when I could barely stomach continuing to watch the show. Although many might say that the show was about "developing" the characters, I will only examine the flaws in the overall plot of the show.
First, if you are the type of person who likes questions/mysteries for the sole sake of presenting them, then this is quite frankly the show for you. However, if you expect more than a completely half *ssed attempt to address the questions once posed, avoid this show like the plague. Maybe it's just me, but I believe that the whole point of highlighting important questions/mysteries is the attempt to try to explain these topics to best of one's ability. Since I don't have days to point out each plot inconsistency or unanswered questions/mysteries, I will try to sum up the plot via analogy. Imagine you have a 1000 page murder mystery book that starts out following a detective that is trying to solve a case involving a rapist-murder. After spending about 500 pages laying down clues the detective follows and it feels that the case will be solved and everything will come together and make sense, the detective all of a sudden catches another completely unrelated case and then dedicates all of his time and effort to solving case 2. The book then spends the next 498 pages almost strictly focusing on the second case while from time to time making enough references to the 1st case to make you think the writer will eventually come back to it by the end of the book. Now for the grand finale, in the last 2 pages, the detective hears that both murders were picked up randomly for jaywalking by a beat officer and then both confessed to their crimes voluntarily. The book then ends without bothering to answer why the killers committed the crimes in the first place and offers a half *ssed attempt to explain the relevance of 20% of the clues, while acting like 80% of the other clues just didn't exist. Add 10,000 more pages, 40 characters (half of which you ask why they were even included), and 200 more unanswered clues/questions/mysteries, and you have Lost.
It became rather obvious to me halfway through the series that the writers had absolutely no idea where the show was going and were using the idea that if we throw a bunch of *hit against the wall, maybe some of it will stick. My belief is the reason why the writers refused to answer any of the questions they posed is that they didn't want to box themselves in and they wanted to draw the show out as long as possible and continue to keep the money flowing in. Lots of people will tell you that each scene had meaning, but at no point in time do the writers actually demonstrate what they believe or think are the actually meanings behind these scenes. The writers merely leave it up to the viewer to fill in the lion's share of the meaning behind the show, which is why everyone and their mothers have a different hypothesis about where the show was going/went. I admit that I like movies and shows that keep you guessing or have you fill in a few holes at the end that result from a well laid plot, but I find it the hallmark of lazy and incompetent writing when the viewers are expected to try to answer almost every question posed. I am all for show/movies that make the audience think, but this method of script writing should never alleviate the burden of writers having to think. I believe the reason why so many people liked the show is that I think they give the writers way too much credit and think that they had a deeper meaning behind everything they did. It seemed to me around season 3 or 4, the writers were so lost in convoluted plot lines that went nowhere, they decided to ask a bunch of 6th graders where they think the show should go. In an attempt not to hurt any of the 6th graders' feelings, despite the fact that most plot lines didn't make sense or fit together, they decided to incorporate all of them with the brilliant idea of when one has run its course, just throw in another to distract the audience from the fact that none of the earlier 200 mysteries/questions were ever addressed. Bottom line, I felt cheated out of the time it took to watch the entire series, and if you expect the plot of a story to make sense and loose ends to be wrapped up, you will feel cheated too.
Overall, I felt fairly insulted by the writers who seemed to believe that either I forgot most of what happened in the show or I would unquestionably accept the pathetically few incoherent answers they offered. While I found the characters to be bland and sometimes completely pointless, others may find that this aspect of the show makes up for the rest of the nonsense that was vomited onto scripts and shoveled into our living rooms. The best advice I can give at this point, if you think that you can't handle the issues I raised, don't suffer through the entire show like me waiting for a coherent explanation for 80% what happened over the course of the series.
First, if you are the type of person who likes questions/mysteries for the sole sake of presenting them, then this is quite frankly the show for you. However, if you expect more than a completely half *ssed attempt to address the questions once posed, avoid this show like the plague. Maybe it's just me, but I believe that the whole point of highlighting important questions/mysteries is the attempt to try to explain these topics to best of one's ability. Since I don't have days to point out each plot inconsistency or unanswered questions/mysteries, I will try to sum up the plot via analogy. Imagine you have a 1000 page murder mystery book that starts out following a detective that is trying to solve a case involving a rapist-murder. After spending about 500 pages laying down clues the detective follows and it feels that the case will be solved and everything will come together and make sense, the detective all of a sudden catches another completely unrelated case and then dedicates all of his time and effort to solving case 2. The book then spends the next 498 pages almost strictly focusing on the second case while from time to time making enough references to the 1st case to make you think the writer will eventually come back to it by the end of the book. Now for the grand finale, in the last 2 pages, the detective hears that both murders were picked up randomly for jaywalking by a beat officer and then both confessed to their crimes voluntarily. The book then ends without bothering to answer why the killers committed the crimes in the first place and offers a half *ssed attempt to explain the relevance of 20% of the clues, while acting like 80% of the other clues just didn't exist. Add 10,000 more pages, 40 characters (half of which you ask why they were even included), and 200 more unanswered clues/questions/mysteries, and you have Lost.
It became rather obvious to me halfway through the series that the writers had absolutely no idea where the show was going and were using the idea that if we throw a bunch of *hit against the wall, maybe some of it will stick. My belief is the reason why the writers refused to answer any of the questions they posed is that they didn't want to box themselves in and they wanted to draw the show out as long as possible and continue to keep the money flowing in. Lots of people will tell you that each scene had meaning, but at no point in time do the writers actually demonstrate what they believe or think are the actually meanings behind these scenes. The writers merely leave it up to the viewer to fill in the lion's share of the meaning behind the show, which is why everyone and their mothers have a different hypothesis about where the show was going/went. I admit that I like movies and shows that keep you guessing or have you fill in a few holes at the end that result from a well laid plot, but I find it the hallmark of lazy and incompetent writing when the viewers are expected to try to answer almost every question posed. I am all for show/movies that make the audience think, but this method of script writing should never alleviate the burden of writers having to think. I believe the reason why so many people liked the show is that I think they give the writers way too much credit and think that they had a deeper meaning behind everything they did. It seemed to me around season 3 or 4, the writers were so lost in convoluted plot lines that went nowhere, they decided to ask a bunch of 6th graders where they think the show should go. In an attempt not to hurt any of the 6th graders' feelings, despite the fact that most plot lines didn't make sense or fit together, they decided to incorporate all of them with the brilliant idea of when one has run its course, just throw in another to distract the audience from the fact that none of the earlier 200 mysteries/questions were ever addressed. Bottom line, I felt cheated out of the time it took to watch the entire series, and if you expect the plot of a story to make sense and loose ends to be wrapped up, you will feel cheated too.
Overall, I felt fairly insulted by the writers who seemed to believe that either I forgot most of what happened in the show or I would unquestionably accept the pathetically few incoherent answers they offered. While I found the characters to be bland and sometimes completely pointless, others may find that this aspect of the show makes up for the rest of the nonsense that was vomited onto scripts and shoveled into our living rooms. The best advice I can give at this point, if you think that you can't handle the issues I raised, don't suffer through the entire show like me waiting for a coherent explanation for 80% what happened over the course of the series.