LOST Roundtable: The Good, The Bad, and The Others
Posted by: Matt Bergin on February 1, 2010 at 1:09 am
Imagine walking into a television pitch meeting and proposing a big-budget, ensemble, adventure series designed to build toward a mysterious payoff that may rival the secrets of the highest levels of Scientology, will require homework between seasons in order for viewers to get all of the answers to the show’s many questions, and will demand at least a college equivalency in literature or philosophy to fully appreciate. There’s a good chance security will rough you up a bit as they throw you out of the building.
But in practice, this recipe for network failure has made for one of the best shows on TV and one of the riskiest, most influential series of the decade. At least that’s the opinion of the dedicated audience looking forward to their loyalty and hard work paying off in the upcoming sixth and final season of LOST.
Even if you’re not a fan of the show, you can’t deny the impact LOST has had on TV and the pop culture landscape. The sci-fi genre has become a pervasive part of a landscape that used to be reserved (and in many corners, still is) for police procedurals, medical dramas, and the occasional Angela Lansbury mystery. Primetime hourlongs have upped their games in terms of density of content and interactivity beyond the framework of opening and closing credits. Even the way audiences engages with TV has changed because of LOST’s buzz and rewatchability, which caught on just as TiVo and DVRs were rolling out nationwide and “TV on DVD” became a new favorite way to farm couch potatoes.
And so we’ve pulled together a panel of fanboys and fangirls from PopCultureShock.com, ForcesofGeek,com, and other corners of the geek-centric Internet–to talk about the good, the bad, and the other about LOST.
Click any title to jump into our full debate on that topic!
Matt Bergin (PCS, FOG!): I love LOST. I hurt inside between seasons, and I feel like a child on Christmas morning whenever I get to see a new episode or catch wind of a new theory of everything regarding the series. I wouldn’t necessarily label myself a superfan, only because I’ve seen extreme examples of this type of fanatic, and they are both admirable and scary in their dedication to the show, whereas I don’t even have any LOST action figures or other merchandise and I have been only a passive observer to the many alternate reality games based on the show each season. But I am definitely LOST obsessed.
Kayode: I don’t know how many shows tried to replicate the LOST formula per se, but we have seen a rise in genre programming on the major networks that could partially be attributed to the success of LOST. I think it was just a matter of timing coupled with LOST being so high-concept that really helped to draw people in.
Shola: Okay, I have to give major props to such a multicultural cast. I love the fact that the show has so many heroes and defies so many cliches. It’s a testament to the characters that they don’t fall so easily into comfortable boxes.
Kayode: I could see that. I love how the whole Bad Robot crew did the same thing with Cloverfield, and all the viral/interactive marketing for the film certainly shaped your expectations for it, and what it all meant. Even more so when you consider that it was all pretty much inconsequential when the movie finally came out, but you still had an engaging and enjoyable product.
5. What is the wildest theory you’ve had or heard that has since been debunked?
Matt: The friend I tend to geek out about the show with the most (usually in the form of epic, smackdown, drag-out IM debates) had a wild theory during season 3 that involved Ben being a transgender clone of Juliet’s dying sister, and that is why she was so beholden to him. Obviously debunked, and I make a point of ridiculing my buddy for this theory as often as possible.
Matt: I’ve let the show lead me down the rabbit hole to new pop culture discoveries a few times, and more often that that, I’ve followed the suggestions for enlightenment recommended by EW’s Doc Jensen.
Matt: I’d really love to know who was the mystery man conspiring with Eko back in one of the drug lord/holy man’s Season 2 flashbacks. I want some clarity on if/how Charlie’s brother was involved, post-rehab, with DHARMA or Widmore. All of the Richard Malkin (the Australian psychic) stuff…how is he really involved.
Matt: Soprano’s style: Jack approaches a Backgammon table at the base of Jacob’s statue. On the other side of the table sits Locke, who welcomes Jack to the game. Jack sits down, muttering the words “Let’s finish this.” Cut to black. Cue Drive Shaft’s “You All Everybody” as the credits roll.
