Review Time: Lost Season 1

So I've finally started watching Lost again. I missed parts of the first season and never really got to see the second - so it has been pretty cool catching up with the series.

Initially I had felt that Lost was getting made up as the creators went along with the script. It just had too much happening and came across as a bit too ambitious. But upon watching through again, it really is a series that rewards repeat viewing.

Having said that, I still can't shake the feeling that the creators don't really know what is happening on the Island. Of course I'll need to see the second season to see if anything more is revealed. Henley, my brother, mentions that by the end of the second season you have a pretty solid idea of what is actually happening on the island. We'll have to wait and see...

Thematically, Lost is very clever. There are often clever little tie-ins between characters and their flashbacks, and you do need to be watching closely all the time to catch every little detail. I love that about the show. Just seeing how people crossover - even through the subtler links. (For example I just finished watching the episode "Numbers" where Hurley is revealed to be the owner of the company John Locke worked for. It is simply a throw away line between him and his accountant.)

The constant challenge of Luck versus Fate makes an interesting theme to explore, with the multiple serendipitous relationships hinting at some greater plan in action between the characters.

My only concern is that if everything happens in the series for a reason, certain events come across as somewhat harsh. It will be very intriguing to find out the truth of the series. I do feel that Lost has about one season left before it becomes simply too frustrating.

Hurley: I'm happy to be along for the ride, but now I want some frigging answers!

The problem with a mystery is that eventually you have to reveal it. The 4400 is a series that understands this and manages to keep some secrets while revealing the Big Question early, and in the process making another Big Question. (Now that we know who took the Abductees and why they were taken, what happens next? What is the big catastrophe? Can those who took them be trusted to be telling the truth?)

In Lost it feels as though the creators are playing things too closely to their chests. Multiple red-herrings, fake-outs and building mystery ends up overwhelming the viewer to the point of asking "who gives a shit?"

I nearly got to that point by the end of the first season which ended on a cliff-hanger that revealed absolutely frigging nothing. Instead I just had more questions.

Reports on the third season suggest that viewers agree with me - viewing ratings have dropped. I'm a season behind, so hopefully 2 will provide some answers to the big questions, and show that the series is moving forwards rather than circling around like a big tease.

Five seasons, the planned arc of the creators, strikes me as a bit too ambitious. Unless they pull finger and start really exposing the truth of the series in Season 3...

Here's hoping. :)

Love and Huggles

Conan

Currently Reading: The Secret of Zir'An
Currently Playing: Exalted: The Seventh Legion, The Secret of Zir'An
Mood: Feeling pretty good!