Lost re-watch

[Mouse]

It's been ten years, ten years, since the beginning of Lost. I only started watching it because I was utterly obsessed with Dominic Monaghan. I loved the show (but am still majorly critical of it) and joined a few Lost forums - became admin of three of them (Lostie, WatchLost and TheLostWorld). I met two people in particular, from watching Lost, who I've stayed friends with - we've written stories together (it turned out they were both writers too!), we send each other birthday and Christmas cards and presents, and we chat all the time. Without Lost, that wouldn't have happened.

So, I've not watched any episode since the last (awful) episode aired in 2010. But tonight I'm home alone, so I dragged out my series one DVD and watched the first four episodes.

It's brilliant, because I don't really remember much. I remember the big stuff, but I was surprised of how much I couldn't recall.

But, I hate the character of Jack so much. I think he's one of the worst characters in TV history. It's like the writers were trying to force the idea of him being a "hero" onto us. He comes out with some awful lines and to me, he just comes over as smug and self-serving.

As a writer, I can see what the writers of the show were trying to do with him but they over-egged it. He was too much, it was too force-fed. "Jack is a hero." It never came naturally.

There are characters I would've liked to have seen developed more. Charlie should've gone darker, deeper. They could've done so much more with him. Boone could've been developed into someone really interesting. This is the sort of thing that annoys me the most about Lost. Not the plot holes. The characterisation. It's like they were so close to being brilliant, but couldn't quite make it.

I don't remember too much about later series at the mo, and I don't know how far I'll get in the re-watch as I don't really have much TV watching time, but hopefully I'll get to re-watch all series one.

 

[holland]

I promised myself I was gonna let ten years pass it before I re-watch it, because I want to forget as much as I can before I start again.

But yeah, the last episode and the last season in general almost ruined the entire show for me, I was really disappointed.

Btw, what do you think about flashbacks in Lost? I loved them, and honestly can't recall a show that does a better job with flashbacks.

 

[Mouse]

I really loved the flashbacks at the time, but in my rewatch I've not been very impressed with Sawyer's or Jack's. I didn't ever like the flashforward things or flash sideways.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Oh, it IS shocking that it's been 10 years since the first Lost episode (I recently had a similar moment of amazement when realizing it had been 20 years since Babylon 5 began). It was wonderful back in the day to find such a weird, uncommon show on US broadcast television (at the time it seemed the major networks aired only cop and lawyer procedurals....still kind of feels like that now, but maybe it's a little bit better).

I remember the event-tv feel of the series in its first run...just counting the days down to the next new episode...the way the show anchored in expectation your hopes for the coming week. I almost don't want to admit this, but I loved the final show--not the final season so much, but I really was moved by the last episode...I understand a lot of the hate for that conclusion, but still, I was crying like a baby the last few segments.

I too am waiting, just another year or two, for my faulty-at-best memory to allow another re-watching of the series to be of real value. But I still admire the show for its uniqueness, and for bringing something different and exciting back to network, episodic television.

 

[Mouse]

It was brilliant, and I made so many friends out of the show too.

 

[Boaz]

Mouse, how did it go? Did you learn anything new? Any epiphanies?

 

[Mouse]

I've had to put it on pause for the mo! I managed to watch up to about episode ten of season one, I think. My DVD player doesn't work properly, so I'll have to watch the rest of it on my laptop. Soon as I get time, I'll get back into it.

 

[J Riff]

Being a hero is a tough job, there's no upside and the pay is lousy to non-existant.

 

[Idoru]

I've just finished rewatching the first series of this. It really is very good. I know I didn't watch the whole thing, but can't remember when I stopped watching. I do recall it wasn't by choice - I might have moved house and no longer had access to Sky/Virgin, or had it previously been on a terrestrial channel and then bought by Sky?

I really like the way the characters are linked in the flashbacks, often in ways you don't notice the first time around. When Jin went to threaten a minister on his father-in-law's orders, the minister's daughter is watching Hurley being interviewed after winning the lottery, which I'm sure is something you'd never notice the first time around. There are plenty of other link-ups too - Sawyer meeting Jack's dad, Jin waiting in line behind Jack at the airport, Sayid leaving his bag with Shannon. It really adds a sort of 'claustrophobicness' to the whole thing.

Looking forward to starting the second series!

 

[J Riff]

It has been 60 - sixty!- years... and still haven't watched Lorst.