"LOST" THOUGHTS - TV

The BugZ Four Main Categories of Like and Dis for Film and Television Reviews:

Big Fan - Fan - Quasi Fan - No Fan


As to "LOST" the TV Show - Quasi Fan. (Some Spoilers Included Below)

I started as a "LOST" Fan but the killing of Dominic Monaghan's character Charlie Pace brought forward a dreary cliche - the Dead Man Walking Syndrome. Much like those "Final Destination" films, his character inadvertently escaped death so now the Grim Reaper has a Fate Fly Swatter raised to whack Charlie at his every turn. Mr. Pace is reduced to a morbidly predictable joke like the "Always Dying Emma" character from the 2002 remake of the "The Time Machine" starring Guy Pearce. In this H. G. Wells pulpy film misfire (Directed oddly enough by H.G.'s Great Grandson Simon Wells) the protagonist Alexander Hartdegen (Pearce) goes back in time repeatedly in a doomed attempt to save his fiancee Emma (Sienna Guillory) who dies in a new inventive way with each timeline. Unlike the blissfully unaware Emma, Charlie knows about his Next To Die status and becomes sullen and resentful as he waits and tempts fate to hasten his demise. Finally the underwater lab allows him to sacrifice himself in a noble yet semi needless way. Underwater slo-mo selfless sacrifice because an airtight door can only swing the wrong way. He has more in common with Tourist Cast Members like Harold Perrineau's Michael or Jeremy Davies' Faraday whose characters are important yet summarily tossed out in favor of the fashion model generic heroic main characters Jack, Sawyer and Kate. Who gets to banter with Hugo now.

The TV temp character appearance predictability problem has always been evident when established film actors are introduced into a series plot. The past temp character credit designation used to be Special Guest Star meaning appearing in this episode only. But currently temps get to stick around long enough for their Character Arc to be developed and quickly concluded. Actors like Jeremy Davies, Dominic Monaghan and Michelle Rodriguez will be written out long before the shows last episode. The Universe of Characters (A few too many for just one series) also tends to indicate that the cast eventually has to be whittled down. But when the temp characters are more endearing and layered than the model heroic main cast you find yourself missing the Dead Guys more than the Alive Heroic Mainstays. That's what happened with me. Jack, Sawyer and Kate became the Straight Men who the more entertaining Hurley, Charlie, Eko, Locke, Faraday, Linus and Ana revolve around. When the entertaining characters get shoved off the screen then you are left with Soap Opera actors desperately attempting to emote gravitas. Your character investment in the better actor is left bankrupt so the generic heroes can fill out the plot motivations. A show with fewer characters, each with a defined level of depth and time to exhibit personal quirks seems to be a more solid foundation for a gripping series. Fringe is a series that can sustain itself well from season to season without the only important question being "well how does it end - what is the final answer?" Way too much pressure for a TV series to withstand without promising future disappointment and lowered expectations.

I've watched every episode of every season of LOST so there is no immediate need for me to ever watch it again. Four years would have been a reasonable amount of time but six was milking it - too much Filler/Flashbacks and "who cares about these dudes" Side Character Padding. Really? A second set of pretty model soap actors having other side of the island adventures. No wonder they got buried alive - but not fast enough. I'm fine with all the unanswered questions/secrets because we're dealing with script writers not accountants. A few missing plot points, holes in logic and wobbly loose ends are not going to ruin the company. And who cares about "The Final Episode" anyway. It's like some marketing bonanza. Last chance to buy up the merchandise while it's still topical and expensive. Best to move on to other more consistently promising shows like the Super Terrific J.J. Abrams show "Fringe".


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