If you want to know why I haven’t written the last two reviews and won’t write a full review this time, skip directly to the Ugly section(don’t worry, it won’t take you long to get there anyway).
The Good: I don’t know. It’s funny and interesting sometimes.
The Bad: Luckily for me, even the more die hard LOST fans are starting notice more of this stuff. I’ve also noticed that I come away feeling slightly dumber after every new episode. But that’s just me.
Purgatory: Everything until the final episode.
The Ugly: I have decided after much careless and distracted thinking that I will discontinue these reviews until the final episode has come and passed. Reason being: LOST hasn’t changed, and I feel like I’m repeating myself in every single review I write this season. It’s still suspenseful, it’s still mysterious, it’s still dramatic, the writing is still kind of iffy, and the “predictable by being unpredictable” principle is still badly visible. The upside: no time travel. The downside: the sideways universe, which is about as useful as snot. I made all my points last season and LOST has done a terrible job coming up with something new(period) to comment on. I suppose, since I always say that nothing is ever fully explored, LOST has more to offer than I’m seeing and I bet if I looked up the source material for the show and maybe did some sort of comparison thing, I could come up with more interesting things to talk about; but alas, I am one man, with one job, and one life, and thus don’t have too much time to delve into the “deeper mysteries” of LOST.* If you really want to dig that deep, just go to your local bookstore or online and look for the book(1).
Plus, LOST is coming an end, so let’s just enjoy it.
Ciao.
P.S. Lesson of revealing too much too soon: learned.
*By “deeper mysteries”, I mean the stuff that science fiction has been talking about since the 40’s that the mass public is only now becoming awa
References: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Philosophy-Reasons-Blackwell-Culture/dp/1405163151/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269356778&sr=8-1
Thursday, April 29, 2010
LOST---The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 6 Part 5
My wish is apparently LOST’s command. Hi-yuh; samurai action!
The Good:
1. Lots and lots of action to take my mind off of this complicated plot. The action scenes were very well done.
2. The annoying guy in glasses is dead. Finally.
The Bad:
1. Dogen is dead. WTF? I thought he’d be worth many more episodes. Then again, dead on this island never truly means dead anymore.
2. So Locke tells Sayid that he can have anything he wants, and Sayid pretty much believes him. When did these characters get so…trustworthy? First, it’s Jack, then Sawyer, and now Sayid? In myth I can believe this happening because those people listened to their Gods, but this is LOST, and both Jacob and Man-in-Black don’t seem to be too god-like besides the whole smoke-monster ability. It doesn’t even look like the writers are trying anymore. “Shit, Carlton, we need to get Sayid to go back. How do we do that?” “Have Locke tell him he’ll get whatever he wants in life if he does. Sayid will believe him. Other people will believe that as well.”
The Ugly:
1. Nowadays, people are hearing about all the different things we humans are developing that are “advanced”: tablet computers that are so advanced than regular iPods and iPhones, they fit in your bag instead of your pocket; sex robots so advanced they talk and feel just like a high-class whore; computer software so advanced, you won’t ever be able to tell whether an image is authentic anymore. With technology advancing more and more towards the beginning of self-inflicted human extinction, the demand for good television programming has already started to rise, due to the fact that our day-to-day needs are being met quicker. Television is the most accessible form of entertainment out there and, as more time passes, I strongly believe more and more people will be watching it. Programming for TV took a huge leap in a different direction following 9/11, what with shows like 24, LOST, and Heroes sweeping the nation by storm with the whole “what’s going to happen next” ploy. Other shows like “V” and “Flashforward” have emerged under that disguise as well.
Television needs to be careful. Its programming has been the same for a good little while now, but it needs to make sure it doesn’t fall into the pattern of being something that people can count on all the time.
Answers: None
All righty, good times. See ya’ll next week.
Ciao.
The Good:
1. Lots and lots of action to take my mind off of this complicated plot. The action scenes were very well done.
2. The annoying guy in glasses is dead. Finally.
The Bad:
1. Dogen is dead. WTF? I thought he’d be worth many more episodes. Then again, dead on this island never truly means dead anymore.
2. So Locke tells Sayid that he can have anything he wants, and Sayid pretty much believes him. When did these characters get so…trustworthy? First, it’s Jack, then Sawyer, and now Sayid? In myth I can believe this happening because those people listened to their Gods, but this is LOST, and both Jacob and Man-in-Black don’t seem to be too god-like besides the whole smoke-monster ability. It doesn’t even look like the writers are trying anymore. “Shit, Carlton, we need to get Sayid to go back. How do we do that?” “Have Locke tell him he’ll get whatever he wants in life if he does. Sayid will believe him. Other people will believe that as well.”
The Ugly:
1. Nowadays, people are hearing about all the different things we humans are developing that are “advanced”: tablet computers that are so advanced than regular iPods and iPhones, they fit in your bag instead of your pocket; sex robots so advanced they talk and feel just like a high-class whore; computer software so advanced, you won’t ever be able to tell whether an image is authentic anymore. With technology advancing more and more towards the beginning of self-inflicted human extinction, the demand for good television programming has already started to rise, due to the fact that our day-to-day needs are being met quicker. Television is the most accessible form of entertainment out there and, as more time passes, I strongly believe more and more people will be watching it. Programming for TV took a huge leap in a different direction following 9/11, what with shows like 24, LOST, and Heroes sweeping the nation by storm with the whole “what’s going to happen next” ploy. Other shows like “V” and “Flashforward” have emerged under that disguise as well.
Television needs to be careful. Its programming has been the same for a good little while now, but it needs to make sure it doesn’t fall into the pattern of being something that people can count on all the time.
Answers: None
All righty, good times. See ya’ll next week.
Ciao.
LOST---The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 6 Part 4
This episode proved that LOST and I have something in common: we both miss Season One.
The Good:
1. We got our first glimpse as to how deep the rabbit hole goes as far as the sideway’s universe is concerned: Jack has a son. Not really a surprise, considering all the daddy issues that blitzkrieg this show every chance they get, but watching Jack trying to be a father is much more interesting than watching Jack trash a mirror because---gasp---he doesn’t know why his name is on a lighthouse gear!
2. I stand convinced that Claire can handle being the henchmen. It’s clear she’s badass, that’s for sure.
The Bad:
1. Dogen’s sideway’s universe character is a loving, musician-dad? When’s the samurai action coming in?! Come on!
Purgatory:
1. The lighthouse itself. A ship parked at the center of the island, a mysterious hatch, a cave in the side of the island with numbers written all over the ceiling, a crashed plane, an air balloon, the abandoned Dharma stations; the thing that all these ruins have in common is that they are all interesting. Why are they in Purgatory? Because they’re all comfortably interesting; logically interesting. They’re all something one would expect anyone to be interested in. There’s nothing in there that’s daring, that’s bold. Sure, it’s strange that they are there, and that teases the brain, but…I don’t quite know how to explain this and if I suddenly get it spot on I’ll let you know.
The Ugly:
1. Chipping off my shoulder this week comes another reason as to why J.J. Abram’s doesn’t impress me. He always does what’s comfortable. I would really like to see him create something that makes us uncomfortable, that makes us question ourselves; something that challenges himself, makes his audience doubt his abilities. I specifically target Abrams in all this because he did “Star Trek” too; and he made “Star Trek” look like something I’m positive it’s not.
Every time someone tells me that “Star Trek” is about the future, I secretly laugh at them; “Star Trek” is as much about the future as James Cameron’s “Titanic” is about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. I think ole’ J.J. does this because he knows that making it ABOUT the future instead of merely SETTING a story in the future is more comfortable, and will make audience’s feel more comfortable. As much as I loved the new “Star Trek”, there was nothing new in it; nothing that made me start a conversation. “Star Trek” has always been about the betterment of humanity, and all the episodes Gene Roddenberry and the other writers wrote were meant to make the audience look at themselves, and question things they believed. The new “Star Trek” film is very comfortable. It’s made to be likable. One walks out of the movie theater afterwards in a state of “awesomeness”. They see a homeless man on the street, and they walk right by him, like usual. They feel good; why on Earth should they risk losing that? They don’t want to be uncomfortable, and homelessness, poverty, disease, misfortune---all that stuff is just so uncomfortable, let somebody else deal with it. That’s the exact opposite of the Star Trek many fans know and love. Captain Picard would never do that to someone who needed his help. Neither would Kirk(Kirk would also use compassion because he cared, not because it would make him look good in the eyes of the Romulan Empire). Captain Sisko would never walk by someone like that, neither would Captain Archer, or Captain Janeway.
I’m sure Gene Roddenberry knew how to write a good show. I bet he could write something like LOST without breaking a sweat. He was keen to audience’s likes and dislikes, and had years of experience prior to writing “Star Trek”. Instead he chose to show them something he felt they needed to see; with content that he knew would make them uncomfortable. He made a Russian one of the main characters during the middle of the Cold War, made a black woman the first “babe on the bridge”---so to speak---just two years after the end of the Civil Rights Movement and when women were still treated as inferior, put out a message of peace during a time when almost all of America wanted nothing more than to blast the USSR and Cuba off the face of the planet. His show reflected his hopes and his dreams, as well as his own beliefs. It had deeper levels, and deeper meanings. LOST doesn’t. Its meanings simply jump through time, and barely go beneath the surface. They are pre-fabricated and rolled out only when they are needed.
“Star Trek” is the classroom, while LOST is the strip club. That’s what doesn’t impress me about Abrams, Cuse or Lindelof. They satisfy the senses, but do not engage the mind past any novel intelligence.
How many LOST fans will go out and read Slaughter House Five, or Grapes of Wrath, or, in some cases, the Bible? How many fans know that there are still witch-hunts going on in Africa(1)? Or that innocent Nigerians are being rounded up and shot for no good reason(2)?
Probably not too many; they’re all too busy being concerned about what’s going to happen next on LOST. If the media spawned by Abrams and his contemporaries are going to represent our generation in history, the least they could do is tell the truth. Entertainment is not a bad thing at all, and very rarely do writers ever try to sit down and magically produce a “phenomenon”, but as I sit and watch this show, and listen to Cuse, Lindelof, and Abrams spout off their inspirations for their material, it seems as though all they ever want is attention, and don't care how they get it.
Answers:
1. The lighthouse. It’s how Jacob kept watch over his “candidates” and brought them to the island. Check.
Bittersweet episode this week. That’s all. If it was a bit too bitter for some, then enjoy this cool article from a very unique LOST fan (3).
Ciao.
References:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/world/africa/21gambia.html?_r=1&ref=africa
2. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/02/2010298114949112.html
3. http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/2010/02/the-ruins-of-lost/
The Good:
1. We got our first glimpse as to how deep the rabbit hole goes as far as the sideway’s universe is concerned: Jack has a son. Not really a surprise, considering all the daddy issues that blitzkrieg this show every chance they get, but watching Jack trying to be a father is much more interesting than watching Jack trash a mirror because---gasp---he doesn’t know why his name is on a lighthouse gear!
2. I stand convinced that Claire can handle being the henchmen. It’s clear she’s badass, that’s for sure.
The Bad:
1. Dogen’s sideway’s universe character is a loving, musician-dad? When’s the samurai action coming in?! Come on!
Purgatory:
1. The lighthouse itself. A ship parked at the center of the island, a mysterious hatch, a cave in the side of the island with numbers written all over the ceiling, a crashed plane, an air balloon, the abandoned Dharma stations; the thing that all these ruins have in common is that they are all interesting. Why are they in Purgatory? Because they’re all comfortably interesting; logically interesting. They’re all something one would expect anyone to be interested in. There’s nothing in there that’s daring, that’s bold. Sure, it’s strange that they are there, and that teases the brain, but…I don’t quite know how to explain this and if I suddenly get it spot on I’ll let you know.
The Ugly:
1. Chipping off my shoulder this week comes another reason as to why J.J. Abram’s doesn’t impress me. He always does what’s comfortable. I would really like to see him create something that makes us uncomfortable, that makes us question ourselves; something that challenges himself, makes his audience doubt his abilities. I specifically target Abrams in all this because he did “Star Trek” too; and he made “Star Trek” look like something I’m positive it’s not.
Every time someone tells me that “Star Trek” is about the future, I secretly laugh at them; “Star Trek” is as much about the future as James Cameron’s “Titanic” is about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. I think ole’ J.J. does this because he knows that making it ABOUT the future instead of merely SETTING a story in the future is more comfortable, and will make audience’s feel more comfortable. As much as I loved the new “Star Trek”, there was nothing new in it; nothing that made me start a conversation. “Star Trek” has always been about the betterment of humanity, and all the episodes Gene Roddenberry and the other writers wrote were meant to make the audience look at themselves, and question things they believed. The new “Star Trek” film is very comfortable. It’s made to be likable. One walks out of the movie theater afterwards in a state of “awesomeness”. They see a homeless man on the street, and they walk right by him, like usual. They feel good; why on Earth should they risk losing that? They don’t want to be uncomfortable, and homelessness, poverty, disease, misfortune---all that stuff is just so uncomfortable, let somebody else deal with it. That’s the exact opposite of the Star Trek many fans know and love. Captain Picard would never do that to someone who needed his help. Neither would Kirk(Kirk would also use compassion because he cared, not because it would make him look good in the eyes of the Romulan Empire). Captain Sisko would never walk by someone like that, neither would Captain Archer, or Captain Janeway.
I’m sure Gene Roddenberry knew how to write a good show. I bet he could write something like LOST without breaking a sweat. He was keen to audience’s likes and dislikes, and had years of experience prior to writing “Star Trek”. Instead he chose to show them something he felt they needed to see; with content that he knew would make them uncomfortable. He made a Russian one of the main characters during the middle of the Cold War, made a black woman the first “babe on the bridge”---so to speak---just two years after the end of the Civil Rights Movement and when women were still treated as inferior, put out a message of peace during a time when almost all of America wanted nothing more than to blast the USSR and Cuba off the face of the planet. His show reflected his hopes and his dreams, as well as his own beliefs. It had deeper levels, and deeper meanings. LOST doesn’t. Its meanings simply jump through time, and barely go beneath the surface. They are pre-fabricated and rolled out only when they are needed.
“Star Trek” is the classroom, while LOST is the strip club. That’s what doesn’t impress me about Abrams, Cuse or Lindelof. They satisfy the senses, but do not engage the mind past any novel intelligence.
How many LOST fans will go out and read Slaughter House Five, or Grapes of Wrath, or, in some cases, the Bible? How many fans know that there are still witch-hunts going on in Africa(1)? Or that innocent Nigerians are being rounded up and shot for no good reason(2)?
Probably not too many; they’re all too busy being concerned about what’s going to happen next on LOST. If the media spawned by Abrams and his contemporaries are going to represent our generation in history, the least they could do is tell the truth. Entertainment is not a bad thing at all, and very rarely do writers ever try to sit down and magically produce a “phenomenon”, but as I sit and watch this show, and listen to Cuse, Lindelof, and Abrams spout off their inspirations for their material, it seems as though all they ever want is attention, and don't care how they get it.
Answers:
1. The lighthouse. It’s how Jacob kept watch over his “candidates” and brought them to the island. Check.
Bittersweet episode this week. That’s all. If it was a bit too bitter for some, then enjoy this cool article from a very unique LOST fan (3).
Ciao.
References:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/world/africa/21gambia.html?_r=1&ref=africa
2. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/02/2010298114949112.html
3. http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/2010/02/the-ruins-of-lost/
LOST---The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 6 Part 3
Sorry about the tardiness.
An intriguing sense to be had this week, as the “flash-sideways”(1) continue to unravel and we continue to watch them, chins in palms, yawning. Many thoughts and questions come to mind about the “sideways” universe, especially for Locke and the geeky-looking Ben Linus. Titillation grips me as I write this review as I got to watch one of my own LOST theories came true.
The Good:
1. Locke may not have his legs, but he’s about to get married to the one he’s always loved. His dad also seems to have returned to normal, and they have a good relationship. That was nice, albeit overshadowed by paralysis.
2. Even in the sideways reality, Benjamin Linus stills sucks at life.
3. The smokey-vision was an eerie effect, yet gives viewers a very child-like delight.
4. Seeing as though Kate’s name didn’t appear to be on Jacob’s cave, there is a possibility that Kate is either going to get phased out and booted from the Island, or dead by the end of season 6. Meaning she will no longer get in the way of things. Though I like her character, the writers have completely destroyed her lately.
The Bad:
1. The “sideways” universe is getting boring, fast. So now we get to watch the characters trounce around their regular, normal lives, either moaning like hell or getting extremely lucky? So far, this alternate reality has been almost a repeat of Season One, only slightly less interesting, as the elements that made season one so grippingly dramatic are now replaced with smiling pictures and “hey, I feel like I know you, weird huh?”’s.
2. The Numbers are Jacob’s doodles on a cave wall? This season’s main theme appears to be “heavy disappointment.”
The Ugly:
1. Though I never voiced this theory to anyone but myself, anyone who wishes the doubt the validity of my claim can do so without any retaliation from me; I predicted before season six started that Jack and Locke would forever remain on the island to take over the jobs of The Man in Black and Jacob; to balance out the forces of “black and white”(whatever that may mean symbolically) and guard the island until they found a replacement. Thus I thought that the entire reason they were even on that island was to be evaluated and prepared for taking over the job. While that theory hasn’t fully come true, nor will since Locke is officially dead now, I did kind of pat myself on the back when Un-Locke explained to Sawyer why Jacob had brought him there, seeing as though at least part of my theory was correct. I promise all of you that that theory was not taken from anyone else’s, though I’m sure others have come up with it. Whether you believe me is up to you. Frankly speaking, it seemed like the logical choice, judging by how often the survivors were tested. It almost seemed as if someone were preparing them, and often times the best way to get honest behavior out of someone is to keep them in the dark about why they’re being tested.
Purgatory:
1. The blonde kid. Just after we find out that Smokey has been the one morphing into all the apparitions on the island, another non-Smokey apparition suddenly decides to appear. Great.
Answers:
1. The numbers. Turns out they are Jacob’s way of using Google Calender. How dull. Check.
The ball got rolling a little faster this week, but I still felt as jet-lagged after this episode as I did after last week’s episode. Despite my bashing of it, LOST just isn’t the same without it’s intense mind-fucking. In the meantime, enjoy these other theories about the show from the sci-fi website i09.com. I call them LOST: The Stoner Theories(2).
Ciao.
References:
1. http://io9.com/5474095/go-ahead-and-tell-locke-what-he-cant-do-he-doesnt-mind
2. http://io9.com/5472967/the-secrets-behind-lost-our-50-best-theories
An intriguing sense to be had this week, as the “flash-sideways”(1) continue to unravel and we continue to watch them, chins in palms, yawning. Many thoughts and questions come to mind about the “sideways” universe, especially for Locke and the geeky-looking Ben Linus. Titillation grips me as I write this review as I got to watch one of my own LOST theories came true.
The Good:
1. Locke may not have his legs, but he’s about to get married to the one he’s always loved. His dad also seems to have returned to normal, and they have a good relationship. That was nice, albeit overshadowed by paralysis.
2. Even in the sideways reality, Benjamin Linus stills sucks at life.
3. The smokey-vision was an eerie effect, yet gives viewers a very child-like delight.
4. Seeing as though Kate’s name didn’t appear to be on Jacob’s cave, there is a possibility that Kate is either going to get phased out and booted from the Island, or dead by the end of season 6. Meaning she will no longer get in the way of things. Though I like her character, the writers have completely destroyed her lately.
The Bad:
1. The “sideways” universe is getting boring, fast. So now we get to watch the characters trounce around their regular, normal lives, either moaning like hell or getting extremely lucky? So far, this alternate reality has been almost a repeat of Season One, only slightly less interesting, as the elements that made season one so grippingly dramatic are now replaced with smiling pictures and “hey, I feel like I know you, weird huh?”’s.
2. The Numbers are Jacob’s doodles on a cave wall? This season’s main theme appears to be “heavy disappointment.”
The Ugly:
1. Though I never voiced this theory to anyone but myself, anyone who wishes the doubt the validity of my claim can do so without any retaliation from me; I predicted before season six started that Jack and Locke would forever remain on the island to take over the jobs of The Man in Black and Jacob; to balance out the forces of “black and white”(whatever that may mean symbolically) and guard the island until they found a replacement. Thus I thought that the entire reason they were even on that island was to be evaluated and prepared for taking over the job. While that theory hasn’t fully come true, nor will since Locke is officially dead now, I did kind of pat myself on the back when Un-Locke explained to Sawyer why Jacob had brought him there, seeing as though at least part of my theory was correct. I promise all of you that that theory was not taken from anyone else’s, though I’m sure others have come up with it. Whether you believe me is up to you. Frankly speaking, it seemed like the logical choice, judging by how often the survivors were tested. It almost seemed as if someone were preparing them, and often times the best way to get honest behavior out of someone is to keep them in the dark about why they’re being tested.
Purgatory:
1. The blonde kid. Just after we find out that Smokey has been the one morphing into all the apparitions on the island, another non-Smokey apparition suddenly decides to appear. Great.
Answers:
1. The numbers. Turns out they are Jacob’s way of using Google Calender. How dull. Check.
The ball got rolling a little faster this week, but I still felt as jet-lagged after this episode as I did after last week’s episode. Despite my bashing of it, LOST just isn’t the same without it’s intense mind-fucking. In the meantime, enjoy these other theories about the show from the sci-fi website i09.com. I call them LOST: The Stoner Theories(2).
Ciao.
References:
1. http://io9.com/5474095/go-ahead-and-tell-locke-what-he-cant-do-he-doesnt-mind
2. http://io9.com/5472967/the-secrets-behind-lost-our-50-best-theories
LOST---The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 6 Part 2
Last week I woke up as kind of a new man. LOST impressed me beyond just being able to keep my attention and keep me intrigued. I was highly excited for the first time since Season 2. The ending of the premiere made me sort of second guess myself, but I figured I’d wait until next week until I passed judgment on it. Well, it’s next week, and LOST is being a bitch again like it always fucking is.
The Good:
1. Nothing. Yeah, that’s right I fucking said it: nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing. Let me say it again: nothing. There wasn’t even humor. What’s-his-face (the Security Guard from Season 3) getting hit in the head again and then shot was all right, but that was more satisfying than humorous.
2. All right, so I started writing the “Bad” section before realizing there was actually WAS something pretty good; the part where Jack swallowed the pill was pretty fucking badass. There…there you go…something good.
The Bad:
1. Ethan Fucking Goodspeed’s character has run his course. Quit bringing him back. The only thing anybody remembers(or cares) about that guy is that he is an asshole, albeit in disguise.
2. Last season Jack’s character started getting messed up, what with his tendency to start conflict with anything and everything for no reason whatsoever, as well as his brief “New Locke” phase. This week’s episode proved that that mess is unsalvageable and that Jack’s idiotic character cannot be redeemed. That first “pill scene” between him and Dogen was complete and total bullshit, both in terms of writing and how it fits into the plot. I love how the writers are now realizing the many questions they have to answer in a short period of time and thus have started taking quicker, more full of shit-than-ever shortcuts. It never crossed Jack mind that maybe Dogen could be manipulating him using guilt? I thought Jack didn’t trust the Others. I thought Jack didn’t trust anything.
3. Claire as part of the bad guy brigade. Really? Seeing her wielding a shotgun made me laugh. I would sooner believe an 80 year old Deforest Kelley as a gun-wielding henchmen then Claire.
4. Apparently the only thing affecting people in the LAX Reality is the Island reality. Simply put: if I was a pregnant woman(god that would be ugly) who’s taxi just got hijacked by a screaming woman with a gun running from the police; a woman who then kicked me out onto the curb without my stuff in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, I doubt I would ever trust that woman again, much less get back in the cab with her while she is UNCUFFED. And the writers, of course, excuse this by saying “I just knew”, thus saying that because of their Island relationship(sounds like a Nicolas Sparks book), both knew the other was trustworthy. That, or the writers are deeply insulting the intelligence of their characters. Seeing as how the writers have done this before(1), this actually does not surprise me very much.
5. LOST, you insisted, and whined, and moaned all of last year that you wanted to be entirely about plot; and while some people abhorred(hated, reviled, detested) that idea, you said “fuck all” and stuck to it. You can’t go back now. This episode featured character development which, despite being very interesting and even moving, is something the writers chose to abandon once the characters were firmly established. And, while I feel as though it is never too late for anything, this is the last season and you have a lot of questions to answer. So stop trying to go backwards and just get on with it.
The Ugly:
1. It seems as though the stance on mainstream media has started to change recently. Nowadays, it has become more than obvious that video games, instead of “being brain pulverizing”, “violence-inspiring”, “as-bad-for-your-mental-health-as-Eminem-lyrics” trash, are now making kids and college students more intelligent(2). Recent studies, mainly if not all composed by Steven Johnson(including the video game study), are hypothesizing that television is also doing just that. Keep in mind, I said “hypothesizing”. Here are some(3) of those studies(4). While these studies do prove that television itself is getting smarter, that does not necessarily mean that the people watching them are getting any smarter. Cause and effect is a naturally occurring phenomenon in the universe, while television is controlled programming. Simply because one writes a smart show does not mean that its viewers will thus be more intelligent by watching it. It all comes down to what a person’s opinion of intelligence is. To me, problem solving is merely one form of intelligence, thus having shows like LOST, Alias, and Hill Street Blues exercise that part of the brain very well. The trouble with shows like this is that the different elements that the aforementioned articles highlight as signs of a smarter show are not different elements of the SHOW; they are merely different elements of the PLOT.
1. Many overlapping plot strands.
2. An unclear distinction between the major and minor plot strands.
3. A relatively large number of primary characters.
4. Moral ambiguity.
5. No narrative hand holding.
6. Non-linear action.
On paper, all of those elements would appear to make for a good all around show, but in execution they come as simply serving the plot. Example: LOST. LOST has many overall subplots, but they all connect to one gigantic plot that the show follows. The major and minor plot points of Lost, even when they switch from one to the other, still connect to one gigantic plot point. The primary characters go away and come back for reasons connecting to the main plot. The moral ambiguities of the characters: because of, and/or triggers more of, the plot. The purpose of no narrative hand-holding on Lost is to stretch out the plot. All non-linear action on the show relates back to the central plot in some way. Now if one is strict to the teachings of Aristotle, then everything serving the plot is just fine, as Aristotle believed plot to be the Chuck Norris of Grecian Theatre(5). However, history has proven that plot need not be the master facet of theatricality. In today’s world, any television show can use merely one of the “Oceanic Six” up there as the central facet of the show and be successful. Many have tried, most have failed.
2. Anybody analyzing television ratings, with enough ego to fill the Grand Canyon, will tell you that shows fail because “It doesn’t have what it takes” or “the numbers speak for themselves” or some other generic insult that sounds like it’s from the days of the Bush Administration. When judging a show as bad, ratings are the first things broadcast networks look at. Yet plenty of shows have been haled as “ground-breaking” and “amazing” by critics and fans alike, but have barely lasted one, desperation-filled breath in the mainstream media’s ratings chart(“Arrested Development”, “Firefly”, “Miracles”). Most, if not all, of these shows center around character development; the premise for “Firefly” was “Nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things”(6); “Arrested Development” survived for three seasons on merely the personalities of the characters within it. Yet character development is more than likely the reason why they failed; apparently, people don’t keep people’s attention. Audiences more than likely excused these shows as “going through the motions” after certain events. In short, nothing really happened on them. Audiences sit down and prepare for something to happen plot-wise, but are not rewarded, and thus change the channel.
I don’t know why these shows fail, and my beliefs on it are just theories, but when is mainstream media going to change to a less caring mode? Okay, so you only have 3 million people watching it while other networks have a decisively less intelligent show that is garnering 10 million. Big fucking deal. If new television shows are eventually going to need all six of those elements up there simply to be demanded by audiences, then we could potentially be seeing the biggest downgrade in the output of thoughtful new television shows in history; and more shows designed to keep us on the other end of a string(not to mention the fact that mainstream film has already started to become more like television). Also, seeing as though LOST executes the “Oceanic Six” to high success, just imagine what it is going to be like when other writers try to take that formula and make it “newer” and “better”.
Answers:
1. Claire is alive and well. Check.
2. Everybody on the Island is back in the same timeline, as [further]evidenced by the abandoned Dharma Center for Brainwashed Cat Poop buildings.
A rather ridiculous episode; let’s hope for a better one next week.
Ciao.
References:
1. http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/harold-perrineau-upset-with-lo-20058.aspx
2.“Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter.” Johnson, Steven.
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/magazine/24TV.html
4. http://hubpages.com/hub/8-Television-Shows-Scientifically-Proven-To-Make-Watchers-Smarter-DVD
5. “The Poetics.” Aristotle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle)
6. http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/TV_Shows/F/Firefly/2002/07/22/734323.html
The Good:
1. Nothing. Yeah, that’s right I fucking said it: nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing. Let me say it again: nothing. There wasn’t even humor. What’s-his-face (the Security Guard from Season 3) getting hit in the head again and then shot was all right, but that was more satisfying than humorous.
2. All right, so I started writing the “Bad” section before realizing there was actually WAS something pretty good; the part where Jack swallowed the pill was pretty fucking badass. There…there you go…something good.
The Bad:
1. Ethan Fucking Goodspeed’s character has run his course. Quit bringing him back. The only thing anybody remembers(or cares) about that guy is that he is an asshole, albeit in disguise.
2. Last season Jack’s character started getting messed up, what with his tendency to start conflict with anything and everything for no reason whatsoever, as well as his brief “New Locke” phase. This week’s episode proved that that mess is unsalvageable and that Jack’s idiotic character cannot be redeemed. That first “pill scene” between him and Dogen was complete and total bullshit, both in terms of writing and how it fits into the plot. I love how the writers are now realizing the many questions they have to answer in a short period of time and thus have started taking quicker, more full of shit-than-ever shortcuts. It never crossed Jack mind that maybe Dogen could be manipulating him using guilt? I thought Jack didn’t trust the Others. I thought Jack didn’t trust anything.
3. Claire as part of the bad guy brigade. Really? Seeing her wielding a shotgun made me laugh. I would sooner believe an 80 year old Deforest Kelley as a gun-wielding henchmen then Claire.
4. Apparently the only thing affecting people in the LAX Reality is the Island reality. Simply put: if I was a pregnant woman(god that would be ugly) who’s taxi just got hijacked by a screaming woman with a gun running from the police; a woman who then kicked me out onto the curb without my stuff in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, I doubt I would ever trust that woman again, much less get back in the cab with her while she is UNCUFFED. And the writers, of course, excuse this by saying “I just knew”, thus saying that because of their Island relationship(sounds like a Nicolas Sparks book), both knew the other was trustworthy. That, or the writers are deeply insulting the intelligence of their characters. Seeing as how the writers have done this before(1), this actually does not surprise me very much.
5. LOST, you insisted, and whined, and moaned all of last year that you wanted to be entirely about plot; and while some people abhorred(hated, reviled, detested) that idea, you said “fuck all” and stuck to it. You can’t go back now. This episode featured character development which, despite being very interesting and even moving, is something the writers chose to abandon once the characters were firmly established. And, while I feel as though it is never too late for anything, this is the last season and you have a lot of questions to answer. So stop trying to go backwards and just get on with it.
The Ugly:
1. It seems as though the stance on mainstream media has started to change recently. Nowadays, it has become more than obvious that video games, instead of “being brain pulverizing”, “violence-inspiring”, “as-bad-for-your-mental-health-as-Eminem-lyrics” trash, are now making kids and college students more intelligent(2). Recent studies, mainly if not all composed by Steven Johnson(including the video game study), are hypothesizing that television is also doing just that. Keep in mind, I said “hypothesizing”. Here are some(3) of those studies(4). While these studies do prove that television itself is getting smarter, that does not necessarily mean that the people watching them are getting any smarter. Cause and effect is a naturally occurring phenomenon in the universe, while television is controlled programming. Simply because one writes a smart show does not mean that its viewers will thus be more intelligent by watching it. It all comes down to what a person’s opinion of intelligence is. To me, problem solving is merely one form of intelligence, thus having shows like LOST, Alias, and Hill Street Blues exercise that part of the brain very well. The trouble with shows like this is that the different elements that the aforementioned articles highlight as signs of a smarter show are not different elements of the SHOW; they are merely different elements of the PLOT.
1. Many overlapping plot strands.
2. An unclear distinction between the major and minor plot strands.
3. A relatively large number of primary characters.
4. Moral ambiguity.
5. No narrative hand holding.
6. Non-linear action.
On paper, all of those elements would appear to make for a good all around show, but in execution they come as simply serving the plot. Example: LOST. LOST has many overall subplots, but they all connect to one gigantic plot that the show follows. The major and minor plot points of Lost, even when they switch from one to the other, still connect to one gigantic plot point. The primary characters go away and come back for reasons connecting to the main plot. The moral ambiguities of the characters: because of, and/or triggers more of, the plot. The purpose of no narrative hand-holding on Lost is to stretch out the plot. All non-linear action on the show relates back to the central plot in some way. Now if one is strict to the teachings of Aristotle, then everything serving the plot is just fine, as Aristotle believed plot to be the Chuck Norris of Grecian Theatre(5). However, history has proven that plot need not be the master facet of theatricality. In today’s world, any television show can use merely one of the “Oceanic Six” up there as the central facet of the show and be successful. Many have tried, most have failed.
2. Anybody analyzing television ratings, with enough ego to fill the Grand Canyon, will tell you that shows fail because “It doesn’t have what it takes” or “the numbers speak for themselves” or some other generic insult that sounds like it’s from the days of the Bush Administration. When judging a show as bad, ratings are the first things broadcast networks look at. Yet plenty of shows have been haled as “ground-breaking” and “amazing” by critics and fans alike, but have barely lasted one, desperation-filled breath in the mainstream media’s ratings chart(“Arrested Development”, “Firefly”, “Miracles”). Most, if not all, of these shows center around character development; the premise for “Firefly” was “Nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things”(6); “Arrested Development” survived for three seasons on merely the personalities of the characters within it. Yet character development is more than likely the reason why they failed; apparently, people don’t keep people’s attention. Audiences more than likely excused these shows as “going through the motions” after certain events. In short, nothing really happened on them. Audiences sit down and prepare for something to happen plot-wise, but are not rewarded, and thus change the channel.
I don’t know why these shows fail, and my beliefs on it are just theories, but when is mainstream media going to change to a less caring mode? Okay, so you only have 3 million people watching it while other networks have a decisively less intelligent show that is garnering 10 million. Big fucking deal. If new television shows are eventually going to need all six of those elements up there simply to be demanded by audiences, then we could potentially be seeing the biggest downgrade in the output of thoughtful new television shows in history; and more shows designed to keep us on the other end of a string(not to mention the fact that mainstream film has already started to become more like television). Also, seeing as though LOST executes the “Oceanic Six” to high success, just imagine what it is going to be like when other writers try to take that formula and make it “newer” and “better”.
Answers:
1. Claire is alive and well. Check.
2. Everybody on the Island is back in the same timeline, as [further]evidenced by the abandoned Dharma Center for Brainwashed Cat Poop buildings.
A rather ridiculous episode; let’s hope for a better one next week.
Ciao.
References:
1. http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/harold-perrineau-upset-with-lo-20058.aspx
2.“Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter.” Johnson, Steven.
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/magazine/24TV.html
4. http://hubpages.com/hub/8-Television-Shows-Scientifically-Proven-To-Make-Watchers-Smarter-DVD
5. “The Poetics.” Aristotle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle)
6. http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/TV_Shows/F/Firefly/2002/07/22/734323.html
LOST---The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Season 6
::Lights dim as a proscenium curtain that says “Lost Season 6 Reviews” rises. The audience of 100,001 hushes, shushing each other violently as they settle into their seats. In the darkness a row of trumpets start playing a grand fanfare. As the fanfare crescendos, more rows of trumpets join it, until the stage is filled with the sounds of majestic horns, as if on some sacred battlefield. Lights scan up and down the stage, revealing various silhouettes of LOST like Hurley, the four-toed statue, Locke and Ben. Over the speakers, we here one-liners and dramatic moments from the past, both on the show and off it. They echo from wall to wall: “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” “You hate Lost!” “Doing what I always do…surviving.” “Walt!” “Lost is one of the most amazing shows I’ve ever seen!” “Dharma Center for Homosexual Beekeepers” “We have to go back, Kate!” This continues for five minutes, then ten, then even twenty, holding the audience together as their knuckles turn white from clinging too hard to their seats. Suddenly, the comments die off, and the sound of rapid, foam-mouthed monkeys are thrown over the speakers. On-stage, silhouettes of monkey poo being flung from one side of the stage to the other can be seen. As this gets worse and worse, the monkey sounds are replaced with the sounds of humans arguing over Lost, but the poo flinging continues. The fanfare reaches its Olympian peak, and a gigantic Dharma curtain drops at the front of the stage. Seconds later, a live cannon fires somewhere off-stage and the Dharma curtain explodes into a thousand burning pieces. As if on cue, a sick guitar solo now starts rocking the stage---::
All right, all right, sorry, sorry. I just wanted to have a little more fun.
Welcome to Season 6 everybody, and what a Season it looks like it’s going to be. The magical Island of Lost: filled with exotic wonders, ancient “monsters”, all kinds of different humans who want to kill each other, and the best entertainment gimmicks beaten to death that money can buy. Let’s get started.
The Good:
1. It’s the Others! No, really, it is this time! I mean it; it’s the Others! Finally! Okay, so they weren’t seriously called “the Others”, but how many more groups of people could possibly be living on this island? So it’s the Others!
2. Charlie! And Boone(I liked him)!
3. Hurley with a gun is just funny.
4. The first ten minutes of this premiere were nothing short of breathtakingly brilliant. These writers may get on my nerves all too frequently, but that does not mean that they do not have their moments, and even their minutes and hours, of solid beauty. The opening scene on the plane introduced the new "reality" twist as if it was a ship in a bottle. These people almost appear to be happier, even though we know they're not. One almost cannot judge their actions in this timeline. It was very relaxing. And let’s face it, even the sharpest critics of this show had to smile and feel completely awesome when the camera went into the sea and we saw all the island’s stuff sitting there covered in seaweed.
5. J.J. Abrams has taught these writers well(or perhaps they taught themselves, who knows). As I said back in the “That 70’s Show” review, structure is a building block that, while not the most important thing, can easily make or break a show. While LOST may be filled with all sorts of malfunctioning gimmicks and gadgets, the show has managed to maintain a rigid structure. I may not personally agree with what is included in the structure, but certain aspects of it always strike a positive chord in me. Each season is fantastically different and has its own unique qualities. Plus, we always seem to meet a new group of people every time: Season 1 was the survivors, Season 2 was the Tailies, Season 3 was Ben’s People, Season 4 was the freighter, and Season 5 was the Dharma Seagull Shit and You Program(oh come on, did you really think I was going to convince myself to get rid of the Dharma names?).
The Bad:
1. Same old “carrot-on-a-stick” shit. Come on, people, enough with the mystery and suspense gimmicks. You don’t necessarily have to give us the answers all at once, but adding new mystery-on-top-of-new-mystery like zits-on-top-of-zits is getting old! And fucking boring! This is your final fucking season, so stop feeding us the same bullshit you always do. I stand with my girlfriend, who stated the following after watching only the first hour of the premiere: “this show would be more exciting if something normal happened.” I get the feeling that the writers decided to cancel their own show not as a gift to themselves, but because they knew they couldn’t keep bullshitting people for too much longer. I know J.J. Abrams and his associates like to take one mouth-watering gimmick and beat the shit out of it until its blood and fluids saturate the Earth’s crust(see: “Cloverfield”), but now it’s just starting to get pathetic.
2. Jacob lives! Oh wait he doesn’t. Okay then, Jacob lives…on! You know, on most shows, a character who dies and then comes back as some sort of supernatural apparition is exciting, but on this show it's just kind of a buzzkill.
Purgatory:
1. The Others. Yes, I am glad we know who the Others are now, but now we have to see what they bring to the table and if its worth anything.
2. It appears as though the primary characters are now “lost” in reality. While I find this idea interesting, I find it interesting with a grain of salt, and have deep-seeded fears that this idea is no more than a repeat of last season’s “off-the-island” storyline which resulted in---surprise!---them realizing a greater purpose and then going back to the island. Plus, I think we all know why things are subtly different in this new reality: the affect of no-Jacob.
3. Darth Smoke Monster: while part of me is generally thrilled to see the old classic of good vs. evil starting to emerge, I’m not sure if such a story can work well on this show, what with all the moral ambiguities in…well, everything.
4. The writers keep using time travel to solve all their problems. Only for so much longer, boys, only for so much longer. You're lucky this is the last season you have to write.
The Ugly:
1. Most of my lovely, well-dressed, and NERF-sword-wielding critics liked to paint me as a LOST-hater last season(creepy right?....sorry, bad joke), mainly because the only places in the entire world to find reviews like this are places like this website(1) and this website(2). Let me clear any confusion up now, again for the critics as well as new people: I like LOST. Though I liked seasons one and two way better than the “gripping” and “Mind-blowing” seasons 3-5, I am very interested to see how everything works out in the end, and am impressed with how the show is structurally put together. That being said, it has its flaws, and I’m not talking termite-size flaws, I’m talking Death Star-size flaws. Keep in mind, these are just my opinion of the show; what I see when I look at that screen, mixed and cooked with observations of mass media and observations of the people who watch/consume it. It is not meant to represent any universal truths, and research will be used only when i feel it is needed. It is up to you, the audience, to trust me of your own free will. I promise you my conclusions are 90 percent based on what I observe, and I welcome any and all challenges to them. I have no intentions of trying to mislead or discourage anybody from watching the show.
2. J.J. Abrams is back, ladies and gentlemen. I can’t remember where I read (though I swear this was on Lostpedia somewhere) that Mr. Abrams’s name might be removed from the credits in Season 6 as executive producer, but I know I read it. Nevertheless, at the end of the opening credits, there he is, as executive producer. Now, some people like Spielberg, the Coen brothers, and Mel Gibson attach their names to films by being listed as the executive producer, even though they do not contribute anything to the film; hence why movies tend to have as many “executive producers” as Tiger Woods has mistresses. Television is different; the executive producers of TV shows are usually the creators of the show(3). As seasons go on, they step back from directly contributing the show to an even better(or much worse) position, executive producer/person-who-approves-the-writers’-creative-decisions(4). To all those who told me that J.J. Abrams stopped contributing back in Season 1 and/or 2(they didn’t know exactly), executive producer counts as contributing; therefore please welcome Mr. Abrams’s presence back to these reviews. I promise he won’t get brutalized as much or as bad as DL and CC may potentially be.
Answers:
This is a new section I’m going to start in direct honor of Season 6. As more and more questions from seasons’ past begin to get answered, I will keep track of them here. Bear in mind, the writers have a long way go(5). Also, if anyone reading this confirms an answer that I miss, in any episode, please inform me of it.
Season Six, Episode 1:
1. The Man in Black is Smokey the Monster…and pretty much every other apparition that has ever appeared to the Losties on the Island. Check.
2. The Others. Yes, that is verbally unconfirmed but as I said: how many more other societies could there possibly be on this Island? Check.
3. The ankh in the guitar case is a message from Jacob. Not a huge answer but an answer nonetheless. Check.
All around, a B+ opening episode, which is a gigantic step up from last season’s D- opener. ABC says the time for questions is now over and the time of answers has begun. I hope they’re telling the truth about that, because I highly doubt these writers can answer every question they’ve come up with in the past. That being said, I am excited, intrigued, and ready to see what this season has to offer. Let’s go!
Ciao
Reference list:
1. http://thetvaddict.com/2008/06/30/why-i-hate-lost/
2. http://www.chrisdiclerico.com/2006/10/14/i-hate-lost-an-epiphany/
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_producer
4. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/executive-producer4.htm
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/lost-unanswered-questions_n_442135.html
Sites that are vainly similar to my efforts here:
1. http://www.slate.com/id/2242745/entry/2242746/
2. http://www.lostreview.com/
All right, all right, sorry, sorry. I just wanted to have a little more fun.
Welcome to Season 6 everybody, and what a Season it looks like it’s going to be. The magical Island of Lost: filled with exotic wonders, ancient “monsters”, all kinds of different humans who want to kill each other, and the best entertainment gimmicks beaten to death that money can buy. Let’s get started.
The Good:
1. It’s the Others! No, really, it is this time! I mean it; it’s the Others! Finally! Okay, so they weren’t seriously called “the Others”, but how many more groups of people could possibly be living on this island? So it’s the Others!
2. Charlie! And Boone(I liked him)!
3. Hurley with a gun is just funny.
4. The first ten minutes of this premiere were nothing short of breathtakingly brilliant. These writers may get on my nerves all too frequently, but that does not mean that they do not have their moments, and even their minutes and hours, of solid beauty. The opening scene on the plane introduced the new "reality" twist as if it was a ship in a bottle. These people almost appear to be happier, even though we know they're not. One almost cannot judge their actions in this timeline. It was very relaxing. And let’s face it, even the sharpest critics of this show had to smile and feel completely awesome when the camera went into the sea and we saw all the island’s stuff sitting there covered in seaweed.
5. J.J. Abrams has taught these writers well(or perhaps they taught themselves, who knows). As I said back in the “That 70’s Show” review, structure is a building block that, while not the most important thing, can easily make or break a show. While LOST may be filled with all sorts of malfunctioning gimmicks and gadgets, the show has managed to maintain a rigid structure. I may not personally agree with what is included in the structure, but certain aspects of it always strike a positive chord in me. Each season is fantastically different and has its own unique qualities. Plus, we always seem to meet a new group of people every time: Season 1 was the survivors, Season 2 was the Tailies, Season 3 was Ben’s People, Season 4 was the freighter, and Season 5 was the Dharma Seagull Shit and You Program(oh come on, did you really think I was going to convince myself to get rid of the Dharma names?).
The Bad:
1. Same old “carrot-on-a-stick” shit. Come on, people, enough with the mystery and suspense gimmicks. You don’t necessarily have to give us the answers all at once, but adding new mystery-on-top-of-new-mystery like zits-on-top-of-zits is getting old! And fucking boring! This is your final fucking season, so stop feeding us the same bullshit you always do. I stand with my girlfriend, who stated the following after watching only the first hour of the premiere: “this show would be more exciting if something normal happened.” I get the feeling that the writers decided to cancel their own show not as a gift to themselves, but because they knew they couldn’t keep bullshitting people for too much longer. I know J.J. Abrams and his associates like to take one mouth-watering gimmick and beat the shit out of it until its blood and fluids saturate the Earth’s crust(see: “Cloverfield”), but now it’s just starting to get pathetic.
2. Jacob lives! Oh wait he doesn’t. Okay then, Jacob lives…on! You know, on most shows, a character who dies and then comes back as some sort of supernatural apparition is exciting, but on this show it's just kind of a buzzkill.
Purgatory:
1. The Others. Yes, I am glad we know who the Others are now, but now we have to see what they bring to the table and if its worth anything.
2. It appears as though the primary characters are now “lost” in reality. While I find this idea interesting, I find it interesting with a grain of salt, and have deep-seeded fears that this idea is no more than a repeat of last season’s “off-the-island” storyline which resulted in---surprise!---them realizing a greater purpose and then going back to the island. Plus, I think we all know why things are subtly different in this new reality: the affect of no-Jacob.
3. Darth Smoke Monster: while part of me is generally thrilled to see the old classic of good vs. evil starting to emerge, I’m not sure if such a story can work well on this show, what with all the moral ambiguities in…well, everything.
4. The writers keep using time travel to solve all their problems. Only for so much longer, boys, only for so much longer. You're lucky this is the last season you have to write.
The Ugly:
1. Most of my lovely, well-dressed, and NERF-sword-wielding critics liked to paint me as a LOST-hater last season(creepy right?....sorry, bad joke), mainly because the only places in the entire world to find reviews like this are places like this website(1) and this website(2). Let me clear any confusion up now, again for the critics as well as new people: I like LOST. Though I liked seasons one and two way better than the “gripping” and “Mind-blowing” seasons 3-5, I am very interested to see how everything works out in the end, and am impressed with how the show is structurally put together. That being said, it has its flaws, and I’m not talking termite-size flaws, I’m talking Death Star-size flaws. Keep in mind, these are just my opinion of the show; what I see when I look at that screen, mixed and cooked with observations of mass media and observations of the people who watch/consume it. It is not meant to represent any universal truths, and research will be used only when i feel it is needed. It is up to you, the audience, to trust me of your own free will. I promise you my conclusions are 90 percent based on what I observe, and I welcome any and all challenges to them. I have no intentions of trying to mislead or discourage anybody from watching the show.
2. J.J. Abrams is back, ladies and gentlemen. I can’t remember where I read (though I swear this was on Lostpedia somewhere) that Mr. Abrams’s name might be removed from the credits in Season 6 as executive producer, but I know I read it. Nevertheless, at the end of the opening credits, there he is, as executive producer. Now, some people like Spielberg, the Coen brothers, and Mel Gibson attach their names to films by being listed as the executive producer, even though they do not contribute anything to the film; hence why movies tend to have as many “executive producers” as Tiger Woods has mistresses. Television is different; the executive producers of TV shows are usually the creators of the show(3). As seasons go on, they step back from directly contributing the show to an even better(or much worse) position, executive producer/person-who-approves-the-writers’-creative-decisions(4). To all those who told me that J.J. Abrams stopped contributing back in Season 1 and/or 2(they didn’t know exactly), executive producer counts as contributing; therefore please welcome Mr. Abrams’s presence back to these reviews. I promise he won’t get brutalized as much or as bad as DL and CC may potentially be.
Answers:
This is a new section I’m going to start in direct honor of Season 6. As more and more questions from seasons’ past begin to get answered, I will keep track of them here. Bear in mind, the writers have a long way go(5). Also, if anyone reading this confirms an answer that I miss, in any episode, please inform me of it.
Season Six, Episode 1:
1. The Man in Black is Smokey the Monster…and pretty much every other apparition that has ever appeared to the Losties on the Island. Check.
2. The Others. Yes, that is verbally unconfirmed but as I said: how many more other societies could there possibly be on this Island? Check.
3. The ankh in the guitar case is a message from Jacob. Not a huge answer but an answer nonetheless. Check.
All around, a B+ opening episode, which is a gigantic step up from last season’s D- opener. ABC says the time for questions is now over and the time of answers has begun. I hope they’re telling the truth about that, because I highly doubt these writers can answer every question they’ve come up with in the past. That being said, I am excited, intrigued, and ready to see what this season has to offer. Let’s go!
Ciao
Reference list:
1. http://thetvaddict.com/2008/06/30/why-i-hate-lost/
2. http://www.chrisdiclerico.com/2006/10/14/i-hate-lost-an-epiphany/
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_producer
4. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/executive-producer4.htm
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/lost-unanswered-questions_n_442135.html
Sites that are vainly similar to my efforts here:
1. http://www.slate.com/id/2242745/entry/2242746/
2. http://www.lostreview.com/
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