I have heard lots of good things but have yet to watch the series. Is it really worth watching? Does it live up to the hype?

Mikie | March 02, 20:05 CET

It's no Buffy, but there's been some pretty good writing in a few episodes.

BlindHawkeyes | March 02, 20:23 CET

No not compared to Buffy but then not much can.
It is a very loooooong drawn out character drama, since my taste requires more action and less talk I tend to fall asleep. Would be surprised if the DVD's sold well once they (if they ever do ?) explain the mysteries of the island.

jpr | March 02, 20:33 CET

I think it's a really good show, not as good as Buffy, Angel or Alias, but they're completely different shows so it's not really right to compare them.

But yes, it is drawn out, if you're impatient you might not like it, you don't find out straight away (or even 17 episodes later) what the monster is, or where the hatch leads, or where they are, or what kind of great batteries Hurley had that were able to run a discman for a month.

Ghost Spike | March 02, 20:47 CET

September will be a good month for us.

Buffy is on an entirely different level, rather not compare 'Lost' to it. Its a good series. Very subliminal in what everything means. Typical for JJ. I find it very entertaining and I'm looking forward in watching the shows back to back to see what I missed. I would recommend it.

[ edited by Madhatter on 2005-03-02 18:49 ]

Madhatter | March 02, 20:48 CET

Lost is a very very awesome show. Like Madhatter said, I'd rather not compare it to Buffy or Angel, cause Lost is so very different from those two shows.

Looking foward to picking this up on DVD.

[ edited by BurkleFreak on 2005-03-02 19:50 ]

BurkleFreak | March 02, 20:53 CET

LOST is taking a while to play out its mysteries but if you have the DVD's you don't have all the delays that come with watching it over the course of a season. So if the concept intrigues you, you should definately check it out.

batmarlowe | March 02, 21:18 CET

While I do love the show, I'm getting VERY tired of not getting any answers regarding the mysteries of the island, and I've heard that some viewers and critics are too. I love twist and turns just as much as the next person but if you don't throw me a real bone once in a while it's hard for me to come back and that's kind of how I feel about the show right now, if they don't give the viewer some type of solid answer I don't know if I will return after Season 1. I'm sure the DVD features would be great to watch though. Does anyone out there feel the same way?

WheelsOfJoy | March 02, 22:49 CET

I don't have any personal gripes about how the show is pacing along. I really enjoy the speculation though, not to mention the fact that I tend to let the episodes build up and then watch three or four at a time.

What I'm most concerned about is the payoff at the end. It's the sort of thing that's either going to be utterly brilliant or unfathomably lame. If the latter ... well, I think the backlash will really be something to see.

Jet Wolf | March 02, 23:11 CET

I think they will begin to reveal more and more of the islands secrets in the last 7 episodes of the season (as well as the personal backstories of the castaways; then again, I believe the two subjects are completely intertwined), with episode 24 having a cliff-hanger that reveals a lot. Then in S2 they deal with the aftermath of those revelations. It makes sense from a narrative and marketing standpoint.

Shroomy | March 03, 01:53 CET

I'll save you the time of watching Lost. Every episode is the same. Here you go:

Character X's episode:

Character X does something on the island
Flashback about character X
Character X talks to someone
Another flashback about character X
There's a few brief scenes with other characters
Character X talks to someone else
Another flashback about character X
Character X learns an important lesson

The end

aerelorn | March 03, 04:38 CET

Excellent dissection of the Lost formula, Aerelorn. I concur with your accessment. However, formula is but one element of television storytelling. Perry Mason was a very formulaic series, as were Emergency, Quincy, and Mission Impossible. Few question that in their time, those shows were quite entertaining and impressive to a wide demographic. The difference, from any one television series to another, is in how that formula is utilized. Three's Company is a perfect example. That series could be similarly broken down into episodic formulae. In the case of Three's Company the formula wasn't used as a skeletal structure from which to hang a complicated series of plot arcs. It was used as an excuse for pratfalls and running gags.

X-Files was often formulaic as well, but interwoven into the episodic formulae were a combination of Monster-Of-The-Week episode plots and seasonal arcs that were gripping and thought-provoking. Coupled with that were a dry sense of humor, intriguing character examinations and almost volatile social commentary. I personally wouldn't look at a dissection of any given X-Files episode and use that as proof to dismiss the series without a second glance.

Lost has its faults, but it's well thought out, keeps the viewer guessing, has an unique and delightful sense of humor and perspective on subjective reality. It also questions the very basic issues of humanity: how we interact with one another and what we expect from each other when the chips are down.

I'll save you the time of watching Lost. If those issues and an occasional hour of intellectual stimulation don't interest you? You could always opt to watch America's Next Top Model instead. =)

[ edited by ZachsMind on 2005-03-03 05:02 ]

ZachsMind | March 03, 07:00 CET

While I do love the show, I'm getting VERY tired of not getting any answers regarding the mysteries of the island, and I've heard that some viewers and critics are too... Does anyone out there feel the same way?

Absolutely. I wrote about it and House in my LJ not too long ago:

By the way, House is a very good TV show. I'm almost ready to say that Lost sucks. Notice I didn't say it has started to suck or it has gone to hell. To use that kind of language would be to claim that the story has made some kind of movement. It hasn't, really. But House is a good show. I don't like medical shows, typically. This one, however, is built around a very strong character. The writing is equally good. 'Course it's on FOX, so I imagine it'll be cancelled within the next little while.

And that's my problem with Lost, essentially. It's the kind of show I watch for the story, only it hasn't delivered, IMO. We've gone beyond my threshold of tolerance. There have been too many empty episodes. I'll watch if it's the only thing on, but I won't make an appointment anymore.

ETA: As far as ZachsMind's argument goes, I disagree on a number of counts. I don't think the show is especially well thought-out. That's the problem. I wonder if the writers realized they might run out of stories, so they opted to stretch the ones they could come up with. As far as its insight into the human psyche, I've seen (and read) a lot better, even in the state of nature mould.

[ edited by Smo on 2005-03-03 08:03 ]

Smo | March 03, 09:59 CET

I love Lost. To me it is a tv show which isn't really about the "island mystery" rather it is a series of character studies with a running thread of supernatural.

I've had problems with the statement that the plot hasn't "gone anywhere" every episode has been very careful to provide you with SOMETHING, if not a clue about the island than some information and backstory on the cast of interesting characters.

That to me is the heart of the show these 15 peoples and their stories, we know them all now much better than we did at the beggining, the plot has progressed quite nicely and if all you're waiting for is the monster and answers to the island... you'll be dissapointed.

AS for empty episodes... I can't think of one that didn't have something that I liked, mainly in terms of backstory mind you.

rabid | March 04, 09:46 CET

I like LOST's pace. I watch TV shows that move quickly (sometimes a bit too quickly), and then there's Lost and Carnivale. You don't even know the meaning of "slow paced" until you've seen the first season of Carnivale (I believe someone here once described it as "glacially paced"). The second season of Carnivale has picked up a lot though, so much is happening and finally being revealed. The build-up in Season 1 was all worth it, IMO, provided Season 2 finishes well.

Seems to me a hell of a lot of people have a small case of ADD when it comes to television. How's this for a theory? The writers of Lost, first and foremost, wanted the series to be about, as ZachsMind put it, "how we interact with one another and what we expect from each other when the chips are down." It's a character study. Think Lost has no plot/plot moves too slow? Valid complaint I suppose, but IMO if you think that then you've completely missed the point. What we have here is a diversity of well fleshed out characters. The flashback-every-episode device is a mostly effective method for letting us get to know them, contrasting who they were before the crash with who they're now becoming. Anyway, I could be wrong, but I think that's how the writers wanted the show to be received.

It's way too early to be writing Lost off as another X-Files, another series that will drag all its mysteries out over nine seasons and become apparent that the creators never had a clue exactly where they were going. At least I hope JJ Abrams and crew have learned from Chris Carter's mistakes (you could probably point the finger on this issue at other shows such as Twin Peaks. I've only seen the first season of that series, but it comes up in posts and review columns as an example of a series that milked a mystery beyond its worth). We're not even through the first season yet, for me the jury's still out on the overall effectiveness of Lost's set-up. What I am sure of is that, while I wanna know what's up with the island and the mystery beast and such, I'm more interested in the people all this is happening too. I can be patient for the BIG ACTION and plot advancement if the interpersonal dynamics are entertaining enough.

[ edited by Kris on 2005-03-04 09:56 ]

Kris | March 04, 11:55 CET