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Twitter'Lost': Good things come in threes
I hope you've all been enjoying the "We Have to Go Back" endeavor so far. I know I certainly have. Thank God. Otherwise, I'd be totally screwed for the next few months. But seriously, it's really great to go back to the beginning of Lost and see what was there from the start, what's been since dropped/forgotten, or even where the show went off the beaten path into territory even the writers didn't know.
But more than that, I've appreciated the show on a meta level as well through this process. I know this is going to sound all lit-crit, but I'm hoping to make this a bit less dry than trying to illuminate the symbolism in Longfellow's "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls." I could, naturally, make a case about how Lost derived its meaning from this one poem, showing how the use of tides in the show signifies something of great import, but you could light a match on that entry and start your campfire with it. Assuming, that is, that you read this blog while camping. Which, you know, you should. Nothing says "outdoors" like a "reading a blog."
(Plus, I bet the light from the screen would be awesome at attracting bears. OK, on second thought, don't read this blog in the middle of the jungle. I can't have a "Dharma Witch Project" on my conscience.)
So I won't compare the show to any poetry, but I will argue that while the show is groundbreaking in terms of pure content, I'd also argue its lasting impact may in fact lay in the presentation of said content. In fact, I'd like to put forth the notion that Lost is an innovator in at least three major ways we now take for granted in our every day media consumption.
Innovation #1) It was the first HD show.
By this, I don't mean it was literally the first show to air in high-definition, but it was the first to truly exploit the technology in order to boost its story. Lost would have been a fine show in standard definition, to be sure, but its lush backgrounds, cinematic scope, and eye-popping visuals are only possible with the advent of high-definition. In an age where many people opt to watch movies at home versus going to the cineplex, Lost offers then a movie-like experience week after week.
Innovation #2) It was the first DVR show.
Again, TiVo and the like came along well before Lost. But what other show crammed each episode with moments and images that necessitated, even demanded, that the viewer rewind, pause, and go "What the #$&* is THAT?" Lost puts these moments in fleetingly because they know its fans will analyze them, debate them, and obsess over them. And then can do all this precisely because the technology exists to do so. Lost didn't invent this technology; they merely incorporated it into their own narrative toolbox.
Innovation #3) It was the first DVD television show.
In an age where there's limitless choice in what we can watch, there are still frustrating barriers to truly watching what one wants, when one wants to watch it. Shows such as Lost often suffer because the conventional wisdom is that there is not a mass market for long-form narrative in popular television programming. As such, we get a few hundred thousand procedurals, with stand-alone episodes ready to be syndicated.
And hey, that's all well and good, except Lost works just as well, if not BETTER, on DVD. Not only does it empower viewers in a way that network programming does not, but the experience of watching the show actually changes when episodes are not being doled out at the seeming speed of continental drift. Does it prevent "water cooler" dialogue? Sure. Without the communal time/place for watching television, that goes away. But as we're seeing with "We Have to Go Back," it also provides a marvelous way for curious fans to check out the show and catch up come Season 5.
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So there you go, y'all: nice and painless metacriticism. Good work; you each get a Dharma Ice Cream Bar for your efforts. Now step up and tell me what innovations I missed!
Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.
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have to admit, Prof. McGee, i'm behind on my homework. haven't gotten to re-watch "Walkabout" yet b/c i really want to devote some serious time to it. and to this entry's main point, what other show requires MORE than the allotted episode time to re-watch?
I can not watch LOST, or for that matter TV in general, without Tivo. It's the greatest invention since sliced bread.
Anywho, re-watching again has made me appreciate the show even more. Seeing all the ground-work they layed from the beginning really pan out in the long run is quite amazing.
I am also addicted to Tivo. Every tv in my home is hooked up to Tivo now because I cannot bear to watch tv without the ability to pause, rewind or even transfer shows from one tv to another. But back to Lost. I agree watching the show on DVD is better than network tv. I can watch at my leisure and not depend on network tv to tell me when the next episode is available. Also things that annoyed me the first time around were no big deal in me rewatching. Nikki and Pablo(?) were not nearly as bad this time around and season 3 and meeting The Others was actually more entertaining and not so boring. I cannot think of additional innovations though.
I love LOST (and your blog, Ryan), but will disagree with you on point three. I'd say 24 had LOST beat by a season or two in the "DVD show" category.
I think one of the interesting things about Lost is no real dependence on a true central character. When the show first started, people basically thought it was a Matthew Fox show with a few supporting actors. But really, with the flashbacks and -centric episodes, everyone has become the star of the show. Instead of crime of the week procedurals, it's an ongoing story with character of the week episodes. You might still say Jack is the main star, but I think you could say the same about Locke, or Ben or a lot of other people.
Ok, gotta go put the campfire out.
Justin, I agree to a point that 24 pretty much set the mark for quality DVD collections (what was great before that, really? Little House On the Prairie? Benson?), with one exception: sure, 24 can be just as well-plotted as Lost, but repeated viewings of the latter show are more likely to reveal things previously forgotten or not seen before because either it happened so fast, or we missed the significance the first time around. With 24, once you reach the end of the season and buy the DVDs, you can pretty much see the plot twists coming in bright neon lights, with trumpets abounding and elephants bearing placards pointing the way. Or if you'd rather, most episodes of 24 go like this: Jack finds out stuff, goes off in search of more stuff; Jack kills/injures/screams at/tortures/looks violently constipated at somebody who probably deserves it; Jack blows **** up; Jack sometimes talks quietly to a child or, to shake things up, Chloe; Jack shouts, "DAMMIT!"; wash, rinse, repeat, ad infinitum. Don't get me wrong, because I love 24, but compared to the intricacies of Lost (whether they're there on purpose or by accident), Jack Bauer's Quest For Fire is kind of like comparing Sesame Street to Barney the Purple Dinosaur.
Also, and not that I'd dare speak for Ryan, but I think what was meant was that Lost was the first show where buying the seasons on DVD was almost a necessity in order to fully appreciate the show and all that had happened. With 24, once you've watched one of the seasons, you can pick and choose which ones you would prefer to watch again (unless you're a die-hard fan, in which case you probably have them all anyway); for me, that would mean avoiding the previous season, since after the first five or six episodes, it rather sucked, and I'm not wasting money on it. Even when Lost goes the way of the DUH, I still buy the DVDs, simply because it truly does add to the overall experience. The added benefit, of course: not a single damned commercial.
I totally agree with Ryan's DVD theory because I am a product of it. I saw Lost once (maybe a half an episode) in the middle of the season and I didn't like it. Its like starting a book in the middle. I think it was the second season and I couldn't figure out why if they were "lost", there were roads and houses there (which I know now is the Others place, but I didn't know then). I turned it off and didn't watch again for a long while. Then I saw the Complete First Season in the library and I took it out. After I watched that, I was "hooked". I've been watching Lost weekly since then.
BUT having said that, I now participate in "water cooler" conversation, because all the Lost fans at work know each other (its like we are part of a "clique") and we discuss what happened the night before (what discussions went on when Alex died!) So, yes its a DVD show, but yes, it inspires "water cooler" discussion.
I agree w/DD. When it comes to 24 you can watch 24 again for entertainment purposes but rarely if ever will you discover new things missed on your initial watch. Also each season of 24 acts independent of each other. If you are a Lost fan it is damn near a necessity to rewatch just so you can see how everything unfolded and were set up even as early as season one. I love how each season began w/so much drama. The first season w/the plane crash. The second season watching Desmond in the Hatch and the third season w/the Book Club featuring a Stephen King novel. This is just the best show ever. I also agree that Lost works because other characters play such a significant role in the show w/their own flashbacks etc. My brother who is watching this for the first time thinks too much emphasis is given to Jack because their is always a character screaming to "Get Jack".
I guess I should mention that I loved the start of season 4 w/the introduction of the Oceanic 6.
Is LOST the first TV series to have it's own search engine website, "Lostpedia"??
I think it is.
In fact, is LOST the first TV series to have several websites devoted to all it's rabid fans? I it the first to use screencaps as a form of analyzing detail, thanks to TiVo and DVR?
Is it the first to use the term, spoilers? No, I think AI has got that honor.
Is it the first series to have blogs dedicated to it? Probably not but, I'm not sure which series would take that top spot. I bet LOST has the highest number of blogs written about it at this stage.
Is it the first to have chats and forums completely dedicated to it. Of course not. Again, there are probably more devoted LOST fans out there posting away right now than any other TV show ever.
I got my first DVR when LOST came on the air. From the first episode, I was hooked and never missed one week. Of course, my cable company charged me $15/mo.(crooks) and I eagerly paid it just for the opportunity to never miss another show and to be able to pause, rewind, fast-forward and re-watch to my hearts content.