Mmmm… fish biscuits!
 Lost kicked off its third season last night. By the third season of any popular show there really isn’t a need for an advocate to get people to tune in (unless it’s called The Wire or Veronica Mars). Lost all ready has its audience, and they are mostly faithful, but it is certain that they will slowly dwindle away over the next four years as the show finishes out its run. I am a Lost fan, and I intend to ride out the show for the foreseeable future, but I’m no longer in the game of telling people that it is without a doubt THE show to watch — mostly because, well, it isn’t. There’s more to say after the jump…
For me, what’s exciting about the show is its inability, at this point, to throw something at the audience that they wouldn’t buy. Easily being one of the weirdest things on network television since Twin Peaks, Lost has tried to do everything in its power over the past two years to drive away its audience and, for the most part, little has worked (though that fiery Ana Lucia came close, but that could have been due more to an error in casting than to an attempt by the show’s creator to actively enrage the fans). This is a testament to the series’ strength as an actual drama (something Heroes and Jericho could learn a thing or two about). Now, it isn’t so much a matter of “unlocking the mystery” but simply enjoying the hour spent with the characters.
As for Wednesday’s episode, I don’t have any complaints. Like the premiere a year ago, we started out focusing on a complete stranger listening to some rockin’ tunes from the 60s before an explosion throws things out of whack — last season it was TNT blowing open the hatch, this season it was burning muffins (hmm, do muffins explode?). Both episodes also settled down the fanatics right off the bat with a highly revealing series of shots that put something otherwise foreign into context. It was a great opening.
The rest of the episode was about par for the course. We were treated to a decent Jack flashback that suggested he was not only at fault for his crumbling marriage, but for his fathers alcoholic relapse and eventual death. The Others master plan, which could be lord-knows-what, still seemed to be presented as straightforward as the shows big mystery could be. And Henry Gale (or should I say Ben… something) continued to be simultaneously menacing and comforting. I’m also thrilled that the first seven episodes (which will air consecutively before a two month hiatus) will feature primarily Jack, Kate and Sawyer, who might not be the best characters, but are always at their the best when together.
What did you think?…
October 6th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
I’m getting tired of Jack’s flashbacks. What a long way to show that he indirectly killed his dad.
Oh, and biscuits is tasty.
October 6th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
What’s funny about Jack is that he started out the series as our hero, but has since been reduced to something of a whiner. If he weren’t so dreamy looking I might have to put him on notice.
October 7th, 2006 at 1:12 am
I think the writers are painting themselves into a corner more and more, without knowing where they’re going with it and what the mystery really is. Granted, it’s a fun ride and increasingly gripping, but honestly, is there really going to be a huge payoff at the end? Probably not. And the final revelation will forever split the fanbase 50/50 as to whether or not it was satisfying. I think it would be absolutely hilarious and evil if the writers blatantly pissed in the faces of their fans and end the series with Jack waking up and realizing it was all a dream. Then he’d give his dad a big hug and say some line that would forever be cemented into the show’s history. Oh, the death threats that would ensue…
Either way, I predict the season finale will involve the Others finding out that THEY are just as big of pawns as the survivors in some bigger picture. Half of me wants to see that, but the other half says it would just make me roll my eyes. Depends on how they present it, I guess.
Regardless, it’s fun to watch and one of the more compelling series to come around in recent TV history.
October 7th, 2006 at 2:09 am
Maybe this makes me a total loser, but I listen to the “Lost Podcast” done by the producers of the show. They always insist that with every question they raise, they have an answer. They also say that they know where they’re going, but they might not know exactly how they’ll get there. I trust everything will work out (or at least most things will work out), but as to whether or not the payoffs are satisfying, well, that’s a different story all together.
October 8th, 2006 at 12:45 am
That’s at least reassuring. It’s gotta be hard not knowing how many seasons they have left to either start winding down or keeping it fresh. So have they said there’s a finite amount of seasons they’re planning on, or will it keep going as long as viewers want it to?
October 11th, 2006 at 4:59 am
The 23 million who watched last season were also watching IMMEDIATELY after the show won the Emmy (three days). That number wasn’t a TYPICAL Lost number — it was the show’s ALL TIME HIGHEST number. It held all of the audience that watched the season finale (improved on that number slightly), and ABC has to be happy with that.