Television

Bull Shannon said:
I think, for better or worse, the ending of Lost is completely in line with the season and series that led up to it. Season six definitely got into a panic about landing the plane and shoved more explanations at me than I really needed (I think it's interesting that Lindeloff evolved through The Leftovers to "just let the mystery be"), but the show overall was preposterous, melodramatic, and pulpy. I just don't see how someone could hang through the 120 episodes before that and then find disappointment, especially if they were able to stick around from season 4 on.

It does also seem a lot of people conflate the church scene as meaning "the church is a purgatory they've all arrived in at once," and not "the church is the purgatory they will each eventually pass through;" I recently had a convo with a friend where they said the finale sucked because "it turned out they were all dead all along," which isn't what's trying to be conveyed there.

Also, the finale gets all the flak instead of the episode where Allison Janney "fills in" the backstory for the show's two meta antagonists by literally making up the rules of the world as she goes.
Click to expand...
A least for me the biggest issue was that it seemed like they had a fun premise and the show probably at some point had a workable and intriguing ending set up. The problem was network TV unwillingness to give up a cash cow until it’s become unprofitable. If Lost was half as long I feel like the ending probably would have been much less disappointing. People had starting speculating that they were in some sort of purgatory early on and as the show progressed the writers seemed intent on trying to push back against that theory. I will say that is speaks to Lindelof and Cruse creative ability that they essentially created enough intrigue to keep it going for years longer than it should have. The show was almost completely out of steam and then the “Flash Forwards” gave it another year or two of life. Unfortunately by the ending there was some much bloat and frayed loose ends that there was no way Lost was gonna end well. Thankfully Lindelof found an appropriate home for his new projects.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
A least for me the biggest issue was that it seemed like they had a fun premise and the show probably at some point had a workable and intriguing ending set up. The problem was network TV unwillingness to give up a cash cow until it’s become unprofitable. If Lost was half as long I feel like the ending probably would have been much less disappointing. People had starting speculating that they were in some sort of purgatory early on and as the show progressed the writers seemed intent on trying to push back against that theory. I will say that is speaks to Lindelof and Cruse creative ability that they essentially created enough intrigue to keep it going for years longer than it should have. The show was almost completely out of steam and then the “Flash Forwards” gave it another year or two of life. Unfortunately by the ending there was some much bloat and frayed loose ends that there was no way Lost was gonna end well. Thankfully Lindelof found an appropriate home for his new projects.
Click to expand...
I agree completely. There's a particular nadir at the beginning of the third season where they introduce the second island, followed by a midseason lift once they secure a deal with the network for a specific number of seasons, but it still continually suffers from needing to simultaneously answer questions and expand the mystery, and keep the narrative ball moving forward constantly.

It's an incredibly uneven show (while there are better and worse seasons, each has episodes and storylines one could point to as series standouts and blemishes), but I just relished tuning every week to see what happened next. It was just so campy and unafraid to flirt with The Prisoner levels of weird. Shoot, it may finally be time for a rewatch; I haven't revisited it since around when it ended.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
A least for me the biggest issue was that it seemed like they had a fun premise and the show probably at some point had a workable and intriguing ending set up. The problem was network TV unwillingness to give up a cash cow until it’s become unprofitable. If Lost was half as long I feel like the ending probably would have been much less disappointing. People had starting speculating that they were in some sort of purgatory early on and as the show progressed the writers seemed intent on trying to push back against that theory. I will say that is speaks to Lindelof and Cruse creative ability that they essentially created enough intrigue to keep it going for years longer than it should have. The show was almost completely out of steam and then the “Flash Forwards” gave it another year or two of life. Unfortunately by the ending there was some much bloat and frayed loose ends that there was no way Lost was gonna end well. Thankfully Lindelof found an appropriate home for his new projects.
Click to expand...

I also heard once that a lot of stuff was thrown in right at the beginning by JJ Abrams, who then didn't stick around to say why. Just "oh, put in a polar bear and a smoke monster!" with no explanation.
 
LeSamourai said:
I also heard once that a lot of stuff was thrown in right at the beginning by JJ Abrams, who then didn't stick around to say why. Just "oh, put in a polar bear and a smoke monster!" with no explanation.
Click to expand...
I forgot about the stupid Polar Bears. And did we even get a satisfactory explanation of what the Darma Initiative actually was for? And I still don't know what the deal with Richard is.
 
dbarila said:
I forgot about the stupid Polar Bears. And did we even get a satisfactory explanation of what the Darma Initiative actually was for? And I still don't know what the deal with Richard is.
Click to expand...
Not really lots of dead ends with unsatisfactory explanations.

I will say that the Polar Bear is what hooked me initially. I had thought Lost was gonna be a TV version of Castaway but that last scene when the Polar Bear showed up I was like WTF!?!! I am not sure I would have been intrigued had the polar bear not showed up at the end.
 
dbarila said:
And did we even get a satisfactory explanation of what the Darma Initiative actually was for? And I still don't know what the deal with Richard is.
Click to expand...
The explanation for the Dharma Initiative was they were...doing...science on the island because the island was weird. And Richard was a guy who landed on the island and Jacob gave him the power to live forever for reasons (I think to be his PA, like the Silver Surfer to his Galactus, for lack of better simile).
 
Love how they dropped the trailer in for "The Witcher: Blood Lines" after the credits of the last episode of season 2 of "The Witcher" for the world premiere of the trailer.

Also, it pays off to actually watch the credits eh?

Really excited for this. Didn't know it was coming and it looks good.
 
I actually really loved all the mythology and Dharma and time travel stuff in Lost. That is where it hooked me even more. I watched it from the beginning and there's nothing I've experienced like watching it live year after year. So all that buildup and waiting and anticipation to the final season...I mean it's almost like nothing could have satisfied me.
 
ayayrawn said:
Have a lot of time on my hands, but also don't have the mental energy to commit to a long drama, so I'm queuing up several miniseries instead.

About finished with Mare of Easttown wothin 24 hours. Great stuff. Kate Winslet rules.
Click to expand...
I am with ya, I decided I didn’t feel like watching anything new so instead I’ve decided to rewatch Game Of Thrones I have just burned through it I am almost finished with season 4. I have found it a rewarding experience. So many different people and storylines going on it helps piece the story together when you know where the story is going.
 
ayayrawn said:
Have a lot of time on my hands, but also don't have the mental energy to commit to a long drama, so I'm queuing up several miniseries instead.

About finished with Mare of Easttown wothin 24 hours. Great stuff. Kate Winslet rules.
Click to expand...
Have you seen Top of the Lake?
 
kvetcha said:
Have you seen Top of the Lake?
Click to expand...
I haven't but I love Campion, so I'll probably have to put it on the list.

I have The White Lotus, Underground Railroad, or something next. Watching all of Mare in 24 hrs, as great as it was, was exhausting, so I'll need to bump it a couple days lol
 
ayayrawn said:
I haven't but I love Campion, so I'll probably have to put it on the list.

I have The White Lotus, Underground Railroad, or something next. Watching all of Mare in 24 hrs, as great as it was, was exhausting, so I'll need to bump it a couple days lol
Click to expand...
TotL was my introduction to Campion, loved it. About to embark the rest of her filmography in anticipation of the Blank Check mini next year.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
Started season 6 of The Expanse last night.

Weird to be reading the final book in the series where a character is alive who was killed off in the tv show.
Click to expand...
I wondered why they simply didn't recast him instead, I bet that is strange...

Finished Hawkeye, what a lovely show. I think I like it the most of the Marvel TV series. Loki second.

I was surprised but glad they tied in the Netflix universe. They always referenced the movies in those shows, like big things that happened, but actually adding in the Kingpin since they were dealing with criminals in New York was a really great way to do it.
 
Hemotep said:
Just watched the first episode of Station Eleven and it has promise!
Click to expand...

I just watched episode 1 tonight. I may listen to the audiobook and then binge the rest of the series.

But I liked that first episode. Unfortunately the showrunners other show I started was Maniac, and after the first episode I just couldn't get in to that. I hope this is different, but I think I should read/hear the book first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top