First off, let me set the record straight for those of you who think I take joy in ripping LOST apart. I love LOST and do think it is one of the better shows that has come out in recent years. I may rip it apart sometimes, but I do that if I think it deserves it, and quite frankly speaking the season 5 premiere deserved everything it got for reasons I’ve already explained. I do nit-pick and I do criticize things that are absurd and may not end up being important, but seeing as though I’m a critic, albeit an amateur one, it would kind of defeat the point if I didn’t do that. I could just sit on this computer and go “it sucks!” or “its great!” and just highlight all the feelings that make me flowery or dead inside, but I like thinking critically and hope you do as well. It’s not like anything I say is going to effect anything the writers do. Hell, I could be reviewing for the New York Times and they still wouldn’t give a shit. I write these reviews mainly because LOST is the only TV show I set aside time for, and also because I was told that to be a good writer of anything, you have to continually keep writing every chance you get, and LOST gives me a platform to keep doing that on. Perhaps if I ever set aside time to watch something else like “House” or “Fringe” I would criticize those too.
I’m not trying to be mean when I review LOST because, like I said, I do like it. But as someone who has seen what LOST is trying to do and has seen in done better(not just in Star Trek or Star Wars but well beyond those franchises), I can honestly say that it needs improvement. It needs to stop being in denial and evolve. Some of you may mention the fact that the flashbacks are now flash forwards and the Oceanic Six that are off the island as examples of change on the show, but those changes are not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about change at the fundamental levels of the show. The mystery/suspension/mind games have lasted a very long time and have served LOST well, but now it’s time to tell them that they’ve overstayed their welcome and kick them out; or at least reduce their role. The writers already have enough mysteries to last them a fifth and sixth season, so lay that to rest and try something else. If you need an example of what I mean, then go back and look at MASH, one of the most successful primetime drama’s of all time. It was unique because it evolved over time, starting out as a sitcom and turning into a domestic comedy, all while still remaining popular. It changed at the fundamental level, and its loyal fanbase was kind enough to follow it. That’s the beauty of having a great fanbase; they’ll give you second, third, and fourth chances before blowing you off.
And I guess that is kind of mean, because if LOST did change that stuff, then it wouldn’t quite be LOST anymore. But that’s one of the tricky parts of television, isn’t it? Can you take an established show and transform it into something else and still have it be liked by the same fans? It’s been done before.
And so, to close this portion I am going to ask those who read these reviews to please go back and read the previous ones so I don’t have to keep repeating that I LIKE LOST. Yes, I don’t treat it like it’s the Holy Trinity of all television shows like the rest of the 20 million viewers, but I do that because I personally don’t think it is. That show borrows ideas from so many other things that it would probably blow your minds if you knew. However, much to my tearful, tearful dismay, most of what it borrows from is other science fiction, a genre that only certain people like, and which is going to need a civil rights movement before anyone rates it alongside the more popular genres.
That was the disclaimer. Now to the review:
LOST’s streak of solidity now improves to two consecutive episodes, a milestone of the just-blooming fifth season. While most of the good things actually occurred in the episode this time, most of the bad things remained the same. It just never ends, does it…
The good:
1. Sawyer’s line to the heavens both before and after the island jumped was fucking hilarious, reminding the audience of the Sawyer from the good old days of the first three seasons. Since then, he seems to have become a lot more mellow than normal, and quite one dimensional. At times he almost reminds me of Jack, which I shudder at.
2. The time travel jumps were actually interesting this time around, mainly because the writers seems to be going in the direction I had hoped they would: showing the audience the island’s past.
The bad:
1. If I have to hear one more cheesy line from the Dharma Dialogue Slaughterhouse for Screenwriters, I’m going to choke myself to death.
2. The acting is starting to get a little sour, though that may be the writers’ fault. The good news is that the actors do know what’s going to happen next in the episode. Now if they would only stop revealing it too soon through their acting, that would be great.
3. If you looked up “contradiction” in the dictionary right now, you would probably see the LOST logo taking up the whole page. Once again, the question of moving through time has created more of a headache than before. According to Daniel, the people who are going with the island when it jumps are not supposed to be able to alter anything in the past or interact with it. If that is so, then how the fuck did the Losties interact with the people from the fifties, and Daniel with Desmond? An explanation that I’ve been hearing is that this has something to do with something mentioned in the third season about the universe course-correcting itself, and that does make sense to a certain degree; the moment the Losties come upon something from the past---like themselves---they are immediately removed from that time and placed into another. However, that theory of course-correcting has a major flaw in it: if the universe has to course-correct the Losties by removing them from “when” they are, then that means that the universe must be controlling the island’s time movements; which begs me to ask: if the universe is supposed to divert them from interrupting the past then why the fuck did it put them there in the first place?
The ugly:
1. I really wish people would stop trying to explain this show to me, because those people fail to understand why part of me abhors this show, and part of me abhors this show BECAUSE IT HAS TO BE EXPLAINED TO ME. Normally, good television shows lets their viewers take away whatever they want from them, usually because those television shows have in them many things that appeal to different people. LOST doesn’t have that. LOST has suspension, mind-games, and mystery, and that is pretty much bloody it at this point(this recent episode almost went back to character for a moment, but then the time travel plot took over again). One has to follow the rules of the show in order to like it, which is absolutely ridiculous. However, I can see how that would be appealing. It means one doesn’t have to actually think to watch the show. It’s the perfect set-up: draw a large audience in with suspension, one of the most universal and simplest forms of entertainment, then keep them coming back by simply creating mystery on top of mystery. That way, everyone is so wrapped up in anticipation of what’s going to come next that they don’t even care if that’s the only appealing thing about the show. In the end, all they have to do to enjoy the show is to simply watch it, which I guess is reasonable since it IS television. Nevertheless, it is still a cheap but effective way of drawing immense crowds and knocking out any and all competition. Advocates of the show severely disagree with me on this point, claiming that the show is designed to help exercise the viewers’ critical minds; but I find this argument very funny, mainly because those advocates can come to conclusions of why LOST is one of the greatest television shows of all time, but for some reason they can’t seem to wrap their heads around why it is not, which is funny considering the show is supposed to make them THINK.
2. After watching this episode, I’ve discovered that LOST has a characteristic about it that somewhat shakes my foundation a little bit(besides the Dharma Loveboats and Pillows Foundation). I find that LOST is uncriticizable. Not that it is “perfect” or the “worst-thing-ever”, but that it literally cannot be criticized because nobody knows what the fuck is going on. You can’t look at the show and say “well this thing was good” or “that thing was bad” because you can’t identify what that “thing” is or why it’s happening or what it has to do with anything. I’ve read some websites reviews of this show, and almost none of them actually criticize the show; they merely explain what happens in it and avoid analyzing it whatsoever. It’s a clever avoidance trick by the writers, though it makes me want to punch something. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop writing these reviews, though. I’ll do my best with whatever I have. But this little aspect of the show is one I find to be quite unnerving, because, once again, LOST robs you of any free will you have, and you must watch it the way IT wants to watch it, which I find to be cheap and stupid.
In conclusion, my interest in this season is growing stronger at this point, and the episodes only look like they’re going to get better. Though fundamentally the show hasn’t changed, suspension is nevertheless always going to overpower my critical, thoughtful mind, because I’m addicted to watching other people’s drama thinking “god, I wish my life was this exciting”; just like every other human being alive. However, one fantastic thing about LOST is that it has just about turned into a science fiction show, which means that all those who watch it religiously are now all science fiction geeks, whether they want to be or not :-D.
ha ha ha ha ha ha HA.
Ciao
P.S. Just because a show leaves you wanting more of it doesn’t mean it’s good.
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