Is the TV series Lost worth the watch?
Discussion
No.
Unless you can stand two series where literally nothing of interest happens (writers strike) and an ending so infuriating you'll want to find the culprits, put them down a hatch, then drop a hydrogen bomb on it. I'm still cross about it 5 years on.
Seriously.
Avoid.
Unless you can stand two series where literally nothing of interest happens (writers strike) and an ending so infuriating you'll want to find the culprits, put them down a hatch, then drop a hydrogen bomb on it. I'm still cross about it 5 years on.
Seriously.
Avoid.
Edited by budgie smuggler on Wednesday 7th October 10:06
Nope, it's the TV equivalent of click-bait.
A group of people survive a plane crash and end up on a desert island.
Occasionally strange and otherworldly stuff happens, there's a suggestion that all these things are somehow linked by some strange 'truth' but it moves at a snails pace - the best bit is usually the last 5 minutes when the "in the next episode" bit is on - it promises much, but it never delivers.
This continues for 118 episodes - 88 hours worth, until it ends with an ending which is a bit like when Bobby Ewing walked out of the shower - most of the strange events are ever really explained, there's not really any real 'big answer' to it all, they just string along the audience for 6 years because the ratings were good.
I personally gave up about half way through series 3, one of the writers foolishly let slip in an interview that they didn't actually know how it was going to end and whilst they had the broad strokes of how each series would end they were writing episodes week by week, as soon as I read they I knew it would never be able to tie everything up - I've tried watching the last few episodes and reading the synopsis on IMDB to discover what it was all about, but it wasn't about much.
A group of people survive a plane crash and end up on a desert island.
Occasionally strange and otherworldly stuff happens, there's a suggestion that all these things are somehow linked by some strange 'truth' but it moves at a snails pace - the best bit is usually the last 5 minutes when the "in the next episode" bit is on - it promises much, but it never delivers.
This continues for 118 episodes - 88 hours worth, until it ends with an ending which is a bit like when Bobby Ewing walked out of the shower - most of the strange events are ever really explained, there's not really any real 'big answer' to it all, they just string along the audience for 6 years because the ratings were good.
I personally gave up about half way through series 3, one of the writers foolishly let slip in an interview that they didn't actually know how it was going to end and whilst they had the broad strokes of how each series would end they were writing episodes week by week, as soon as I read they I knew it would never be able to tie everything up - I've tried watching the last few episodes and reading the synopsis on IMDB to discover what it was all about, but it wasn't about much.
Edited by P-Jay on Wednesday 7th October 10:17
As above, no.
First series is excellent, promises so much. In the end it only delivers anger, rage, disappointment, wtf, etc.
Do yourself a favour and avoid.
Someone started a similar thread last year and actually started watching it. I never did find out how they got on with it. They're probably still receiving therapy.
First series is excellent, promises so much. In the end it only delivers anger, rage, disappointment, wtf, etc.
Do yourself a favour and avoid.
Someone started a similar thread last year and actually started watching it. I never did find out how they got on with it. They're probably still receiving therapy.
No. however it did start the path (and very early too) for a lot of the much more narrative driven netflix/amazon prime stuff.
However it it came out now on Netflix/AP with the modern consumer model (one whole series at a time) with a few tweeks it would have worked better.
The more modern model of a series dump is excellent, it means you have have a filler ep (or not much happening) and people will not get pissed off as they can instantly watch the next one and lots could happen in that based on the setup from the previous ep. It also allows much more narrative driven series, which require a bit of thinking without the need for constant BANGS!CRASH etc..
Also no adverts.
Sky is getting cancelled very soon.
However it it came out now on Netflix/AP with the modern consumer model (one whole series at a time) with a few tweeks it would have worked better.
The more modern model of a series dump is excellent, it means you have have a filler ep (or not much happening) and people will not get pissed off as they can instantly watch the next one and lots could happen in that based on the setup from the previous ep. It also allows much more narrative driven series, which require a bit of thinking without the need for constant BANGS!CRASH etc..
Also no adverts.
Sky is getting cancelled very soon.
Edited by joe_90 on Wednesday 7th October 14:58
Interesting. To motivate myself to get on the running machine in the garage I tend to work my way through watching Box sets and I'm currently on LOST about 12 episodes in.
When I saw how many episodes there were I have thought about whether to continue as it is very slow paced even with the flashbacks and revelations about each character. It has been 6.5/10 so far though. Might not bother then with the universal (so far) condemnation here. Might switch to 24 instead (unless that is bad as well)!
To be honest I've thought the same about several "series" where there is enough material for a film (Castaway)or maybe a trilogy but they somehow spin it out for years. Homeland springs to mind - bloke returns from warzone, has he been turned by his captors; how do you make 49 episodes out of that. As you say probably ratings driven.
This is distinct from something like the Sopranos where you grow up with the extended family and care about them and their strange lives. New characters and storylines are then brought in over the years to freshen it up. Oh and a good ending (debatable!).
When I saw how many episodes there were I have thought about whether to continue as it is very slow paced even with the flashbacks and revelations about each character. It has been 6.5/10 so far though. Might not bother then with the universal (so far) condemnation here. Might switch to 24 instead (unless that is bad as well)!
To be honest I've thought the same about several "series" where there is enough material for a film (Castaway)or maybe a trilogy but they somehow spin it out for years. Homeland springs to mind - bloke returns from warzone, has he been turned by his captors; how do you make 49 episodes out of that. As you say probably ratings driven.
This is distinct from something like the Sopranos where you grow up with the extended family and care about them and their strange lives. New characters and storylines are then brought in over the years to freshen it up. Oh and a good ending (debatable!).
joe_90 said:
No. however it did start the path (and very early too) for a lot of the much more narrative drive netflix/amazon prime stuff.
However it it came out now on Netflix/AP with the modern consumer model (one whole series at a time) with a few tweeks it would have worked better.
The more modern model of a series dump is excellent, it means you have have a filler ep (or not much happening) and people will not get pissed off as they can instantly watch the next one and lots could happen in that based on the setup from the previous ep. It also allows much more narrative driven series, which require a bit of thinking without the need for constant BANGS!CRASH etc..
Also no adverts.
Sky is getting cancelled very soon.
I agree, it's pretty much Genesis for a lot of current series, on the plus side that means decent budgets, good actors, fancy sets etc - the downside of that it most series now run at a very slow pace - someone on here said a few days ago that will some American Series you only have to watch the first and last episode, the rest it filler.However it it came out now on Netflix/AP with the modern consumer model (one whole series at a time) with a few tweeks it would have worked better.
The more modern model of a series dump is excellent, it means you have have a filler ep (or not much happening) and people will not get pissed off as they can instantly watch the next one and lots could happen in that based on the setup from the previous ep. It also allows much more narrative driven series, which require a bit of thinking without the need for constant BANGS!CRASH etc..
Also no adverts.
Sky is getting cancelled very soon.
Unfortunately for Lost, the think they did it by accident - ran out of things to show (writes strike related perhaps) slowed the pace down and people kept watching thinking something amazing was being built up to - sadly, it never came.
I watched it from start to finish when it was broadcast; I enjoyed it very much. Some episodes (serieses) could be frustrating, and the story didn't always go where I wanted or move at the pace I would have liked. But that's broadly true of all the shows I regularly watch(ed): Walking Dead, Dexter, Game Of Thrones, Justified, etc - they're all guilty to an extent.
I think watching Lost for the first time now might be more fun, divorced from the larger expectations that used to hog conversations the morning after an episode. I don't think I've been as enthralled by anything on telly as much as I was by the early mysteries of Lost. The hatch. The black smoke. The polar bears. Walt.
I won't ever watch it again (I never watch anything again) but I would certainly suggest giving it a decent go.
I think watching Lost for the first time now might be more fun, divorced from the larger expectations that used to hog conversations the morning after an episode. I don't think I've been as enthralled by anything on telly as much as I was by the early mysteries of Lost. The hatch. The black smoke. The polar bears. Walt.
I won't ever watch it again (I never watch anything again) but I would certainly suggest giving it a decent go.
Lost was great. The first couple of series got you thinking and wondering where the plot will go. So many possibilities.
And then there was a writer strike, and they completely messed it up. The plot made absolutely no sense, just meandered back and forth leaving so many unanswered questions. And then it ended it the stupidest way possible. Only rivalled by the ending of the American 'Life on Mars' that still annoys me to this day.
Having said that my daughter just started to watch it and answered some questions for me as she is apparently more observant
And then there was a writer strike, and they completely messed it up. The plot made absolutely no sense, just meandered back and forth leaving so many unanswered questions. And then it ended it the stupidest way possible. Only rivalled by the ending of the American 'Life on Mars' that still annoys me to this day.
Having said that my daughter just started to watch it and answered some questions for me as she is apparently more observant
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv...
Indie said:
A writer on Lost has revealed what many suspected, that there was never a plan for how to end the show and each season they would just think of "f*cked up things" to keep it ticking over.
Prison Break writer Nick Santora recalled the time his Lost writer friend (who he wouldn't name) came clean during a Nerdist Writer's Panel podcast, an admission he was pretty appalled by.
"We had an expression in the room which was 'No Polar Bears' - a reference to Lost," he explained.
"I had friends that were writing on Lost, I can’t say who they were. And I was watching football with one of them and I was telling them how much I loved the show…and I’m like, "How are you going to pay all this stuff off?" And he looked at me and goes, "We’re not." And I go, "What do you mean you’re not?" He said, "We literally just think of the weirdest most f*cked up thing and write it and we’re never going to pay it off." And I look at him and I’m like, "That’s such bullshi*t! You are completely f*cking with the audience."
Prison Break writer Nick Santora recalled the time his Lost writer friend (who he wouldn't name) came clean during a Nerdist Writer's Panel podcast, an admission he was pretty appalled by.
"We had an expression in the room which was 'No Polar Bears' - a reference to Lost," he explained.
"I had friends that were writing on Lost, I can’t say who they were. And I was watching football with one of them and I was telling them how much I loved the show…and I’m like, "How are you going to pay all this stuff off?" And he looked at me and goes, "We’re not." And I go, "What do you mean you’re not?" He said, "We literally just think of the weirdest most f*cked up thing and write it and we’re never going to pay it off." And I look at him and I’m like, "That’s such bullshi*t! You are completely f*cking with the audience."
I think what annoyed me most about Lost was the abandonment of a vaguely scientific scenario for a quasi-spiritual resolution. Having said that, it was mostly an enjoyable ride while it lasted, that and Elizabeth Mitchell's skimpy vest tops. I guessed they were improvising as they went along when I read that the character of Ben Linus was supposed to be a minor role but he got such a positive reaction that they wrote him a much larger part.
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff