The TV Addict 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so good on you for voicing yours.

I, on the other hand, LOVE Lost!!!! I think we’re in the middle of watching one of the mose genius things ever to grace this lovely medium called TV. I think of LOST as an extended pop-culture iconic event that will be talked about for decades after it’s completion.

I can’t wait to say to my kids (who will probably be able to download the whole series directly to their brains) “I had to wait 9 months between seasons and it almost killed me!”

To all the Canadians out there, Happy Almost Canada Day!!!

Man up and don’t post anonymously. You’re entitled to your opinion, but claim it.

1. marie, theTVaddict is a democracy and everybody is entitled to his or her opinion.

2. holli, the ‘anonymous’ thing is my fault. I haven’t been in touch with the author all weekend, but I’m actually pretty sure they’d be cool with using their name. As soon as I get in contact with the author, I’ll be changing the ‘by’ credit.

Thanks for the clarification TVA. Sorry for the disparaging Anon. And if you don’t like LOST, what do you like so we’ll have a better idea of where you’re coming from?

I also think that you’re missing at least 1/2 the fun by marathon style watching. The thing I enjoy most about LOST is talking about it with other Dutch fast-pitch knitting attorney archers.

Anonymous is an idiot. He/She clearly doesn’t “get it”.

Holli, your second post is exactly what I’d like to know!

WHAT SHOWS DOES “‘anonymous” WATCH?

also…I, too, believe that one of the most amazing parts of the “Lost experience” is talking to you friends and even strangers you meet about one common intrest! it’s uncanny!

Anyways…Lost is not for eveyone…….just like any tv show!

All in all, I am an avid fan of Mr. Abrams’ show and think “LOST” is the best thing for television since “24″, “Scrubs”, “Seinfeld”, and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”!!!

TV ADDICT, I am happy to hear your reply to “marie” because I enjoy hearing the obscured (lol) opinion of a fellow Television Watcher!

Keep up the good work TV ADDICT…the only thing you could do….is FINALLY let ME win one of your contests…..or bring me to the up fronts in NEW YORK!!! yeah…that will get you an article in the USF (University of South Florida) Newspaper!!! lol!

I know I’m in the minority, but YAY to the writer! I wanted to like Lost (and love vaguely supernatural, long story arc tv generally) but it is just so…not interesting to me. I have valiantly struggled to like it because Everyone Likes Lost I’m told, and I do like the flashbacks. But, I’m just not feeling it. (It kind of reminds me of X Files; I used to plan my week around watching this show, but once the movie came out I realized there was never going to be a payoff in the story line and had quit watching by the time Mulder departed the show.)

I’ll leave the Lost to you guys and go watch my Buffy DVDs while waiting for the next Weeds and the Arrested Development movie. Just look at my absence as more Lost for everyone else!

I guess anyone with a keyboard these days. At least try to write a coherent article if you are taking such a stance on a show. I don’t even know where to begin.

Wow… just wow. As a scholar and student to all that is cinematic and digital media I feel the compulsive need to ask you, what the hell is wrong with you? How can you not appreciate the intricate storytelling and superb acting on this show? How can you not appreciate the way that the producers handle their business? Do you not see that LOST is about SO much more than just television? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but damn, yours is so off base that I’m seriously sick to my stomach. Please let us know what you consider to be good television.

I’m with anonymous. I was into Lost for the first couple of seasons, but I’m just not willing to watch a show that’s based on questions answered by more questions answered by MORE questions. It reminded me too much of the last couple of seasons of X-files when everyone sort of realized that Chris Carter had no clue where he was going.

“this euphoric explanation as to why they have spent several hours (years even) viewing this elaborately and intricately crafted tale; sadly, this revelation will never come”

How does this person KNOW the revelation will never come?

“However, it was soon obvious that the writers had burrowed into a “rabbit hole” that they have no sensible way to lead the viewer out of. ”

How does the person KNOW they have no sensible way to lead the viewer out of it?

People are so stupid these days. Fine, voice your opinion but do not throw stupid meaningless sentences at people just to sound smart . And don’t act like you know what the writers are going to do with the story. Only a few people know what’s coming. It’s like reading a book and saying ‘I don’t like this book because I know that there’s no resolution at the end, even though i’m only halfway through it’

Hee. I completely get where you’re coming from. I watched the first season religiously, although I didn’t trust they knew what they were doing since I’d been burned by JJ Abrams before (Alias, anyone). So the fact that S2 and S3 completely sucked didn’t surprise me in the slightest.

I spend those two seasons slamming the show to anyone who would listen. The only thing more annoying than the fact that it was going nowhere, were the throngs of devoted fans insisting that everything had a purpose and was going to be explained. To me, them shoving in the numbers everywhere, or inserting shots of other characters in flashbacks didn’t mean crap, and it infuriated me that people would take it as some kind of sign.

Flashforward (ha!) to S4, and after The Constant, I was hooked again. I have to say that the flashfowards really helped the show, as did setting an end-date. While I don’t particularly think the characters are well-written, at least the show isn’t boring the crap outta me like S2 and S3 did, so that’s enough for me. I don’t enjoy it like I used to, and I haven’t forgotten or forgiven the idiocy of S2/3, but I like it again, nonetheless.

Like Anon, I just recently got into this show and watched all 4 seasons online. That’s where the similarities stop. I became absolutely OBSESSED! I actually think watching it online helped. I hear all the complaints about season 3 and I think a lot of the frustration came from having so much anticipation and not getting any payoff. I didn’t even notice because I just sped through them. It wiil be interesting to see what happens when I join the rest of you and waiting a week for each episode.

CC said: “Just because you dont appreciate it doesnt mean you have to bash it.”

Actually, just because I don’t appreciate it is precisely why I have to bash it and to quote your beloved John Locke “Don’t tell me what I can or cannot do.”

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. I am the infamous “Anonymous” that you have all been responding to. First of all, thank you for taking the time to read my article. In turn, I read every one of your responses. In case you are wondering … I am unrepentant. I still think watching LOST was an immense waste of time.

I think I’ve already said all I really need to say about LOST. The fact that a lot of people here had to be reminded that an alternate opinion is indeed acceptable is quite astonishing. Nonetheless, for me, it was enough to know that there are people (even if on this site, there weren’t so many) that agreed with me or at least understood what I was saying.

LOST fans, I’ll be sure to check back with you in 2010 (y’know, after your glorious-Hale-Bopp-comet-finale) so that we can discuss your disappointment. You’ll probably pretend and act excited, but deep down inside we’ll all know that it was a letdown. You’ll also remember that I actually did warn you.
Cheers, LOST fans. Now, please, relax.

Here are a few shows that I enjoy (or enjoyed while they were on):
LOST (just kidding … and you should’ve seen that coming, really)

Arrested Development, Dexter, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, Six Feet Under, The Office (British, then American), Extras, 30 Rock.

The suggestion that by analyzing the shows I watch you will understand why I don’t like LOST is a bit ridiculous (but not as ridiculous as watching John Locke spend several weeks trying to open a hatch in secret).

Someone called me a “deranged” writer—now that was funny. I haven’t heard someone use that in a word since I saw the movie “Everything is Illuminated”. Now that was the highest compliment.

In high school I once tried to argue with a Jesuit that Shakespeare was bad art. I pointed out lots of problems, from hackneyed plots to loose rambles to poor character development.

Man, was I a dope. The truth was, I wasn’t into it at that point in my life–it was too hard, basically. My punishment was to fall in love with it two years later and devote a good chunk of my life to acting in and directing that poorly written claptrap.

To use another example, I don’t really like ballet, for numerous reasons, but I hope that I have grown enough as an artist and a person to draw a line between what I don’t like, and what I can argue to be bad art. While a debate over that is a multi-martini endeavor, I will say that at least a part of the equation is the depth of engagement from the audience. The fans of Lost are not fools for watching and enjoying, and there is no rhetorical or logical way to prove them so. Read Aristotle if you disagree. You can argue very cogently why you don’t like it, or why for you as audience its flaws overwhelm its virtues, but that is not the same as being bad art, bad storytelling, or bad entertainment.

On a side note, I would like to mention that part of the art form of serialized storytelling is the space between chapters. Watching all of the shows in a row is not the way it was intended to be watched. While I have marathoned shows in the past (Season 1 of Weeds, Season 4 of The Wire), it is not how the creators envisioned the story being told. I rather doubt that watching it the way it was intended would change your mind, or the minds of my friends and colleagues who have written off the show as well, but it is a factor to consider (Linzy McC made a similar point.

Hope you find something you love for its own virtues and don’t punish yourself by trying to like any work of art just because other people tell you its good. It never works out.

The guy has a point. His article does make sense, and it IS well-articulated.

The storyline is preposterous. It would make a great comedy, but they take themselves so damn serously. Even the actors do, and many of them are boneheads.

To all the obsessive viewers of this series — cool. I’m glad you like it.

But to rage against and harangue the writer of this article is simply demented — and hilarious. Reminds of the classic “girl with the abusive boyfriend who is obsessed with him and viciously defends him against all criticism.” Some of y’all are suffering from a TV version of Stockholm syndrome.

I like this litmus test — if you’re into Kabbalah you like “Lost”, and/or vice versa.

“De gustibus non est disputandem’ the Romans said — don’t argue over matters of taste. If you like soap operas or reality shows, fine, but don’t make yourself red in the face trying to convert me to “The Bold and the Beautiful” or “Top Model” or whatever. They aren’t logical choices but largely arbitrary emotional reactions, often backwards rationalized.

If so many viewers of this program experience Cognitive Dissonance Rage when it is criticized, I’m glad I’m not like them and not among them.

Great television, FOR ME — “Extras”, “The Office”, “The Daily Show/Colbert Report”, “Arrested Development”, “Seinfeld” and to a much lesser extent “Curb”, and of course “The Simpsons”. “The Sopranos” and “Entourage” are among my rare favored dramas, along with select episodes of “The X-Files” and “House”.

A special note on “Scrubs”: hated it at first for its manic camera-work, then grew to enjoy it for its rapier wit and Python-esque verve, then grew annoyed with it for its fundamental flippancy and recyclable sentimentality. Great actors though.

And one near and dear to my heart (no surprise given my maxim quoted above): “Rome”, the two-season collaboration between HBO and BBC. Marred by some weaknesses and poor casting in the second season, but still an extraordinary achievement in historical immersion. Now THAT was a cultural event, albeit one missed by far too many. See it if you want to be outraged, entertained, and educated all at once.

I have to say, I agree with the original author — Ted, was it?

It’s always good to raise questions and keep a mystery going to keep the audience interested, but there’s so much random crap happening, it just stops me from caring.

And if anyone is interested: I don’t watch much television, really, but shows that I do like include “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” its spin-off show “Angel,” that prematurely-canceled show “dead Like Me,” a bunch of Japanese shows that I’m sure none of you have ever heard of before, and, even though it dropped the ball by the 3rd and 4th seasons, “The 4400.”

JJ Abrams did this, too, when he created the internet backstory for “Cloverfield” that ended up going nowhere, even though it was very cool and seemingly worth the ride.

LOST is the absolute worst, most poorly written and directed tv show ever televised. The only ones who are lost are the writers and producers, who have simply dug a hole so deep with such unbelievable crappy situations for the cast characters, that there’s no believable way out. But then, believeability has never been a barrier for this show. It’s nothing more than mindless entertainment…and we already have enough of that with Simon Cowel and his American Idol.

Come on now, someone please give us a situation series that doesn’t reek of Stephen King.

Toby Bridges,
Missoula, MT

I just want to make sure my reading comprehension is still at a functionaly level, so could somebody please answer me this. Our good writer Anonymous wrote an entire article that basically said he doesn’t like the series because he doesn’t understand it? I’m pretty sure what makes LOST a great television series is how it doesn’t push the storyline along at a normal pace. Yes, it’s slower than any other I’ve ever watched, but that’s on purpose. By watching how the events unfold in each characters life, how they know other people on the island and even how they are connected to the mysterious island itself you get to know each character better than in any other story. In most shows you see the events of a week or more in one episode. These events happen to only 3 or 4 characters. LOST takes you further in depth into the lives of 7 or so people, depending on the season. And why not have a little mysticism in the story? It is television after all.

Sorry if that wasn’t very well organized… It’s late

I completley agree! LOST started out great and COULD of been a fantastic show!!! but the writers made a mess of it and now it just DRAGS with no payoff! they made it so that I couldnt even care about the cast anymore!! In fact I MYSELF feel like I’ve been stuck on that damm island for 4 years!! ……The reality is that the show went down a crap shoot after season one! I mean they COULD have got two decent seasons out of it if they concentrated on the writing more but its just gone on way too long now! ….and to the guy that said “Lovely medium that is Television” GET A LIFE!

Here is something to think about. Do you believe that after the last episode airs, you will be happy with the ending? Here is the answer to your question. No, you will not be happy (and no not because you are upset that your favorite show is now over–you can always start from the beginning.)

The writers of Lost (and ABC) want you to watch their show every week. They are stringing you along for fear that the viewer will lose interest. They ALWAYS leave you hanging, why? So that you will tune in for next week’s all new episode. Unfortunately for them, they have done this so much and the complexity of the show has become so deep, it is highly unlikely for them to end the show with ability to explain away all of the details. In the end, they will leave you wanting more (why? because that is all they know what they do.)

My bet is that somehow the island gets destroyed and blows away there need to answer any unfulfilled questions.

thank you ted for writing this article. i too have heard enough people say how good this show is. skeptical, i finally watched the season one pilot and was DISAPPOINTED!!

my only enjoyment watching that episode was knowing i didn’t have to sit through a commercial everytime there was a hook meant leave you gripping in suspense, but was actually just annoying like those commercials that suddenly play too loud.

a cheap gimmick! I hate when producers do that. it’s not hard to do, just start an action and cut off in the middle of it! duh!

it’s cheap effects. If the story line was more compelling you wouldn’t need those cheap gimmicks. but the story line is too simplistic. It’s filled with flashbacks and cutaways when nothing really happens.

take the one hour episode, what happened?

a plan crashed, a small party went into the jungle, they found the cockpit and met a monster. and that’s it! well, that might be a lot if it was straightforward, but the hour was stuffed with baggage that requires patience (this is not good when talking about entertainment), not enjoyment, to get through.

the more flashbacks in a story, the weaker the plot line. Flashbacks show the story wasn’t organized well enough to put the information from the flashback into the story in real time.

this amazes me that so it’s so obviously crappy art and yet is so popular. But why should i be surprised, reality tv shows also were very popular.

As for lost, just because it won awards only means it was better than the shows in the same period, which doesn’t say much considering the low point this decade has been for TV.

I considered watching another episode to see if the pace would move quicker, but couldn’t get imagine suffering through another hour of just trying to understand what the point is: there a monster. So, is this for kids??

So thank you author, for being intrepid enough to share your thoughts from a basis in reality, i won’t ever have to take a look at more episodes of Lost.

I know, and you elaborated, that it just sucks.

It’s very simple … It started with a good concept but soon they (writers, director and especially marketing people) realized they had a chicken in hands that would lay golden eggs. Yes, it’s that simple. Then you just keep stirring in the pot but one day your eggs will burst when you overcook them!
I hate marketing people for this simple reason… they screw up everything and turn good things into bad … but then they have to keep feeding their kids as well … I understand dudes … Just like anyone else … Just like me …
in short, LOST is nothing more but a thin storyline that started off with a good concept but is only maintained to keep second hand actors/writers, etc. alive while their stay on this planet.
Twin Peaks ruled because David Lynch knew exactly when to stop and he decided to stop. Not relying on one good invention. Respect David Lynch

I hate lost. Just experienced the finale of season 5 and once again I am left thoroughly disappointed and enraged, spent 20 minutes fuming to my flat mates about how crap LOST is – there smart enough not to watch it. Felt exactly the same with the season¬ 4 finale and watched season 5 with low expectations but still managed to get worked up.

LOST really is nothing more than commercial, slow pasted, unexplainable dross. I have never before experienced a TV show with no revelations – with a show as mysterious as LOST you’d think at some point something interesting would be revealed. Look at the season 5 finale, Locke and the others spend 2 episodes (84 mins) just walking to see Jacob who throughout the whole show has been a mysterious character that we know so little about but who apparently runs the island – he’s supposed to have all the answers – but instead of reaveling anything interesting he is stabbed to death and set on fire, and oh, guess what there’s a dead Locke in box outside – and your left thinking wtf is this all about. This is typical of the whole of lost – no answers only more questions. Now I do understand the idea of existentialism whereby the viewer makes up their own mind but LOST takes the piss. In gaining an enjoyment from works with existential endings I would like to cite the works of David Lynch especially his TV show Twin Peaks – a murder mystery that leaves the viewer to decide what’s happened or the best modern commercial TV show battlestar galactic which constantly has interesting revelations and in fact has an episode called revelations.

I have to admit I am disgusted by all the support LOST has, people claiming it’s a classic. TV classics include things like: The Wire, Twin Peaks, Carnivale, profit, A perfect spy, Blake’s 7, Smiley’s people. These shows were actually good, not endless 8 season drivel.

Finally I would like to say that the only appeal that I can identify LOST as having that some people might be attracted to (other than a prime time slot) is the theories about the show that people like to formulate and discuss and to try and solve what the show might actually be about. This reminds me very much of people who enjoy conspiracy theories and as most sensible people know these people are simple naive idiots who are also the low brow target audience.

Wow! I really hate Lost too. I think it is a joke. I mean, who on earth could think that the writers and producers made a well thinked and planned show? They just started with a idea of a mysterious island, but they changed to a stupid concept: everything can happen, and what it´s worst, they don´t want (and now don´t now) how to explain us the crazy situations that they invented.
I watched all seasons, and probably only the first is the one i liked. I do not hope that in season 6 will have answers. The writers are lost, so lost that i consider myself an idiot to believe in them.

Honestly, I cannot believe how many people ripped the asshole out the anonymous post without offering any suggestions or clarifications. A few of you even went so far as to attack the posters grammar while blatantly ignoring your own misspellings.

Well now, I am watching lost at this very moment. I am half way through season 2 and highly unsatisfied with all of the sandy vaginas. Jack, for no good reason, ventures into the hatch and becomes Sawyers more bullheaded and less logical counterpart. We are supposed to believe that Jack’s faith is somehow tested by pushing a button? Please. Reset the timer and move on. Lest we forget, it took the writers/editors THREE (3) episodes to move past the two minute scene where Jack realizes he knows the person who is inhabiting the bunker. Lets focus on Hugo, who despite knowing everyone’s insecurities feels the need to keep the number thing to himself. And, my personal favorite would be waiting for someone to smack Charlie and tell him to grow a pair. NO ONE on the island stands up for themselves. All of this goes along with me saying the phrase SO FAR. Like I said, I’m still watching, and will continue to watch until the series is over. I throughly enjoyed the first season.

To all of you who claim that people who dislike the show “don’t get it” back up and ask yourself if you’re really that kind of dick. Don’t presume that you’re smarter than anyone just because you like a tv show… please Lord in heaven don’t make that mistake! Take it easy and share your opinions. When you lose the ability to keep a space for objective thought, you’ve lost your ability to learn.

Thanks!

I’ve just wasted a significant part of my existence reading this stupid article — just pure meaningless HATE with no well-reasoned arguments backed with facts.

I’m sure half these posts are written by the writers of Lost. It was inane, nonsense, half-heartedly written and the actors are one trick ponies. I mean how many times to we have to see Jack look constipated, someone say “Ok lets get the guns and go after…” or wtch time and again as the bad guy becomes the good guy becomes the bad guy and everyone seems quite ok to break bread with the person whom 15 minutes before tried to kill them.

Until last week (August 2009) I have never seen a single episode. I curse Netflix for allowing me to waste so much time. Its addictive in teh same way that meth is..which is not a recommendation on my part at all. Its rubbish and it comes as no surprise that fans would be so up in arms about the original post.

Thank you for posting! LOST is such a stupid show. I agree with what you said that, the writers at first were on to something good. That the idea of a mystical island is a cool one. But the storylines and twists and turns that the show has taken have been hokey and annoying. The whole idea of them RETURNING to the island to join the rest of the gang in that time warp drama was sooo stupid, I actually felt embarressed watching it. The only thing wose than that were the “Flash-Forard” sequences. ::puke::

LOST is a show that actually does an extreme injustice even to geeks. It is not a smart show at all… An example of a great show that uses flashbacks well would be Highlander!!!

Another thing that irritated me about the bad writing…the gun stupidity….how many times do they have to load and cock their guns? And why are live rounds not being ejected when they DO cock it for the fifth time without firing? And why do their guns make cocking noises every time they move them? And…..oh never mind….you get the point…..”kachunk click”

At least when Michael was around a lot you could be counted on to have him squint his eyes and twitch off 3 of 4 shots into whatever person or object was near every time he heard a noise..including a huge BIRD flying over his head…oh wait some ‘clever” writer thought that would be a great plot device to expose how Jack had given him and empty gun…only it WASN’T clever. How do people write this garbage and not realize how stupid it is?