As I have stated in my link list on the right, I am a huge fan of ABC's television show LOST. Tomorrow evening is the Season 3 finale and I can't wait! I am also dreading it because after the show airs, I will have to wait until next February until Season 4 starts.I wasn't always into LOST. Before the first season aired, I would see promos for it during the advertising onslaught for all the new fall shows. The promo would boast that LOST is the new show from the creators of ALIAS while showing scenes from the pilot episode (the most expensive pilot ever produced). To be honest, it didn't look that good. Also, I was into ALIAS until the writers of that show lost their vision and turned onto a path of confusing and unrewarding plot lines. I eventually stopped watching ALIAS and never went back. Some people I know watched that pilot episode of LOST when it aired and were turned off by some of its 'unbelievable' set pieces. I could understand that. One of my friends, Mike, (who got me into ALIAS) started watching from the beginning and was hooked. He would ask me if I was watching it. When I told him no, he would always remind me that I was missing a very good show and that I should be tuning in. I finally told Mike to let me know when the Season 1 finale aired so I could start watching the repeats the following week to check it out.
Well, I was hooked as well. LOST could be classified as a sci-fi type of show. But, it is so much more than that. This show is about the CHARACTERS, who are stranded on a mysterious island after a plane crash, first and foremost. You get invested into their stories and want to know how they became who they are and who they will become. You also come to find out that these strangers who come to know each other through tragedy are all somehow linked to one another. Then there are the sci-fi elements. Who are the mysterious Others? How can one of the passengers, who was paralyzed before the crash, suddenly walk after crashing on the beach? What is the Dharma Initiative? Why are there underground hatches on the island? What is this 'smoke monster?'
What makes this show rise above all others for me is how it is dealing with much larger themes, such as right/wrong, white/black, spirituality, faith vs. science, and redemption. Many of the characters have names that are biblical in origin. The characters are all flawed and are presented opportunities to redeem themselves on the island, to make right the wrongs of the past.
Another facet that makes me a fan of the show is the commitment the producers of LOST have to the show and the fans. They realize that the intricate plot they have woven could easily unravel without proper care. They have watched shows like THE X-FILES and ALIAS flounder in their later years because they just went on with out paying off plot lines that were layed out in earlier season. I have much respect for them to negotiate an end date for the series with ABC so they can plan out exactly how the show is supposed to end and give answers to the many mysteries that have been introduced. They could have let LOST just continue on and rake in more money, but they care about the story more than that. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that LOST will only go three more seasons.
So, for those of you that have been watching.......will Charlie die as foretold by Desmond's visions? Can Juliet be trusted? What's up with The Looking Glass Station (a telling name for that station, in my opinion. Is it a portal of some sort to the outside world?) Who were the gun-toting ladies who confronted Charlie? What is up with Jacob? Will the Losties make contact and get rescued? Argh! Bring it on!
