As a devoted enthusiast of ABC's LOST, I felt obligated to share my thoughts now that the show has officially wrapped. Throughout the duration of the series, I was constantly in ponder of whether Lost is the best show I have ever watched... or was it the worst? While it undeniably kept me on the edge of my seat for the past six years, it was the major flaws, such as continuity errors and unanswered questions, that made me wonder whether the writers were pure geniuses or just plain sloppy. I do tend to lean toward the latter, though forgivingly, as Lost has still proven to be one hell of a roller coaster ride that has left a lasting impression for years to come.
By far, the biggest gripe when it comes to Lost was that for every question it answered, it asked five more. Viewers tuned in every week in anticipation of the answers that were about to start pouring in. For a lot of those questions, that moment never came. A lot of viewers became disgruntled over the years and vocal about their distaste for this obsurd method of story telling. See, for a long time, television has conditioned us to expect answers to be spoon fed to us. Our effortless quest for knowledge has made us lazy. We have enough to think about, how dare our television ask us to do more of it?
What makes Lost so special is that it leaves so much open to interpretation. The main characters on the show never knew the history of the island, so sympathetically, why should we? What I have come to realize (with a lot of help from the series finale) is that we weren't watching a show about an island, we were watching a show about the survivors. We were witnessing their struggles as they fell victim to their surroundings. If the island was a backgammon board, the actual story is about the pieces moving around the board.
The island was a mysterious place, and it is best left that way. In similar fashion to the Star Wars franchise, we accepted the Force for what it was. We didn't need an explanation involving midichlorians -- it ruined the magic. Sure some details may have been nice to know, but not at all crucial for the progression of the story. Furthermore, for the times when the Lost writers did decide to dig into the back story, it couldn't help but feel cheesy and poorly contrived. There are definitely some mysteries I wish would have been resolved, however, I will forgive the writers this one time.
To say that all that was provided to us from Lost was a TV show, is a major understatement. Whole online communities have formed in fondness of the show. These are places you can go for great discussions, theories, speculations, and all around good conversation. Also as a result, some of the best podcasts have originated from these discussions. Podcasts such as Jay and Jack, The Transmission, GSPN.tv, etc., have helped make the experience so much more involved. As hard as it was to say goodbye to Lost, it will be just as hard to walk away from these communities that have almost become like family to some. Thankfully, the open-ended nature of Lost will provide an opportunity for discussion for quite some time.
Love it or hate it, you have to admit that Lost has set precedence for what prime-time television should be going forward. It has set the bar so high that it has yet to be reached, though many have attempted. Shows such Heroes and Flash Forward have drawn heavy influence from Lost, but have been unable to keep up with the momentum that the series has demonstrated. It will be a long time before another Lost comes around, and that time will only come when shows stop trying to imitate, and rather create something original and compelling.
Edit: Collegehumor.com has a video that nicely summarizes all of the unanswered questions, which can be viewed here. It really puts things in context.
