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TwitterWhy the 'Lost'-ies don't ask questions
If you watch Lost, you've probably yelled something like this at your TV over the past two-plus seasons: Why the hell don't they talk about what's going on?
There is, showrunner Damon Lindelof says, an actual reason the crash survivors don't do that: It's not good TV.
"The reality is, we've written those scenes and in some cases we even shoot those scenes," Lindelof says. "And whether you take our word for it or not, we think they don't work; they're incredibly boring.
"And actually watching a TV show where the characters are trying to solve the same mystery that the audience is -- if, for example, everybody got together and Sayid said, 'Well, I'll tell you, I found this wire and I followed this wire,' and then somebody else said, 'Wait a minute. That's interesting,' and they started to put it together, it would make for very uninvolving television."
Lindelof's fellow showrunner, Carlton Cuse, actually thinks Lost's success is due in no small part that its characters are more interested in survival than in what the numbers mean. "I think that if the characters became focused on the mythology, a lot of people would drop out," Cuse says. "I think there's a much larger audience that's much more interested in who is Kate going to choose than the details about who Alvar Hanso is."
Or, put another way by Lindelof: "When J.J. [Abrams] and I were first designing the show, he specifically said, 'Don't make the mistake of having the characters talk about Rambaldi all the f***ing time.'"
Those may be all valid points, but it's still hard to shake the idea that Lost can be a little "convoluted," as one questioner put it Sunday. Why, for example, couldn't Ben have just walked over to the crash survivors' camp and asked if there was a doctor in the house?
"There's certainly a point to be made for that version. But I would argue ... that that version is considerably less intriguing for a mystery show," Lindelof says. "You know, the reality is, if when Kate was first stitching up Jack, she's like, 'Who are you?' And he's like, 'I'm a spinal surgeon. I've got some hardcore father issues. I don't think I'm going to be a good leader,' and she's like, 'You've got father issues? I blew up my f***ing stepdad,' you know -- then it would have been like, Why even do the show? Because everything's right there."
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Interesting.
Oh please.. that's lame!
I love Lost but there was some scenes that were absolutely ridiculous.. it's time for the characters talk about the island with each other for god sake!
i love lost i cant get enough of it! im so inlvolved in it it makes u think tht ur actually with them on the island thts wat it is like wen i watch it i love it!!!
i love lost i cant get enough of it! im so inlvolved in it it makes u think tht ur actually with them on the island thts wat it is like wen i watch it i love it!!!
I Liked the first 2 seasons of lost, But the 3rd season has been a drag, They completely forgot about all the other characters and seemed to make it the Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Others show. I Don;t care for the Others, has much, I wanna see whats going on with Locke, Charlie, Hurley, Claire, Russo, Sayid, Jin.. and what not... I mean itz ok to touch base on the Others, but give the real stars of the show some face time. As for this article, i think some scenes would be ok, if they actually talked bout the island, I mean Locke osscionally has talked to a few members about how the island is talking to him and whatever.. Anyway i hope the 2nd half of season 3 is better.
I like LOST ; I 'm anxious & wondering when it's going to be on again.
"There's certainly a point to be made for that version. But I would argue ... that that version is considerably less intriguing for a mystery show," Lindelof says. "You know, the reality is, if when Kate was first stitching up Jack, she's like, 'Who are you?' And he's like, 'I'm a spinal surgeon. I've got some hardcore father issues. I don't think I'm going to be a good leader,' and she's like, 'You've got father issues? I blew up my f***ing stepdad,' you know -- then it would have been like, Why even do the show? Because everything's right there."
Well, that explains a lot. Apparently, the "showrunner" is a moron.
lol you are a moron.
They don't have to tell each other every detail of their lives especially their past, but they should at least share some pertinent information about what has happened to them on the island or what they've seen. The best example is when Kate, Clair and Sun all go out and discover the hatch where Clair apparently was taken to when she was kidnapped. Kate finds a fake beard and raggedy clothes and doesn't bother telling anybody about it until they are trekking off to confront the others with Michael! Wouldn't this be something she brings up to him as soon as she gets back especially when they both have come face to face with him before?!? C'mon man! they can talk a little bit more and i promise you it will not hurt the show one bit!
I strongly disagree that people are more interested in who Kate will choose than in who Alvar Hanso is. I know quite a few people who stopped watching because the love triangle was just making it like any other night time drama. That's why we watch - to find out who the heck this Hanso guy is. Kate & Sawyer - who cares?!