'Lost' is Overrated

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Lancemc said:


Good argument.

:rolleyes:

Fine, I'll give you a better one. 'Lost' is about action and making it seem like every sound heard and every little thing seen is the beginning of a huge revelation. There is absolutely no subtlety in the show at all, everything has to be a bigger than life event. It's not even realistic. If a bunch of survivers of a plane wreck got stranded on an island in real life, it wouldn't be like that. They'd look like absolute shit(as opposed to looking like they spent an hour in a makeup chair while somebody tried to make them look like famished, unshowered, ungroomed, dirty people) , they'd all lose weight because they'd be eating less, the people wouldn't be forming cliques on the island, sometimes the sound of a cricket would be just that and nothing more, and if people wanted to know what was in the hatch, they'd look. It's all about pretty people and action. The West Wing is all about the dialog. If you want to get into it, you have to listen to all of the dialog, comprehend it, understand it, understand the intricacies of why this person is meeting with that person and why these people need those people to vote a certain way on this bill or that. Why this person likes or doesn't like that person. There are no big action sequences to keep your attention. And there's subtlety. They don't try to bang you over the head with everything.

I realize I'm probably being overly-harsh about 'Lost', and I don't think it's a terrible show. I just think it's really overrated. I think the film 'Castaway' does a better job of depecting a similar situation except that only one person survives.
 
Well, thank you for at least elaborating on your point.

The points you make are very valid points. I won't deny that. Sure, it's not a very realistic survivor-type situation, and everyone's gorgeous, yeah I get that, it's certainly not realistic. Then again, that's not why people watch the show. The drama isn't the fact that all these people ARE stranded on the island, but the mysteries about the nature of the island, the reason the crashed, what brought them all together, etc.

The personal back-story to each of the characters gives new perspectives to the story each week without the need for "realistic" interaction between the characters or whatever.

Maybe I should make my point this way...

To me, Lost is supposed to be more like The X-files than it is The West Wing or 24. Who really cares is Mulder and Scully are highly Hollywood-ized FBI agents, and the situations are a little "cheesy" and it didn't have great dialog. It still stands as one of the greatest mystery dramas of all time.

To me, that's what Lost is about. What keeps me (us fans) coming back anticipating each new episode every week is the desire for answers. And I must say the writers this first season gave just enough answers for the number of questions raised so that things never got overwhelming or stopped making sense.




...hmm. Yeah, something like that.
 
I agree. Lost is essentially borderline sci-fi. It's suspension of belief. Yes, they're stuck on an island, and no, the situations are not exactly realistic everytime. But then again, was Buffy? Or the X-Files? Is Desperate Housewives?

As for people being beautiful, everyone on TV is. I read a cast interview with the cast of Lost, where one of them had mentioned losing weight for the role. The problem is, it's filmed over the course of a year, and it takes place in a month. Slow ans suspended weight loss like that is difficult to maintain. And for cast members who are already thin (Emilie de Ravin), dangerous as well.

The subtlety of LOST lies in the connections between the characters....how Jack was connected to Sawyer, or how Hurley and Charlie met before getting on the plane. It's a show based on situations and characters--on their lives before the crash, that have led them to where they are--hence the backstories. Often in TV we don't get to find out about a character's past--not so vividly.
 
The_Sweetest_Thing said:
Often in TV we don't get to find out about a character's past--not so vividly.

You go away and watch a show like 'Spooks', 'Clocking Off' or 'Teachers' - three completely different shows to each other and 'Lost', yet character and situation driven (with exception to Teachers in the latter case), and then tell me Lost is subtle. It isn't, it is cheesy American frying pan in the face subtle. British drama is the pinnacle of good writing, acting and dynamics, and when you can appreciate that, only rare good US shows become even a blip on the radar (like 24).
 
Sopranos>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>West Wing >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Lost.

With a dozen shows in between.
 
Palace_Hero said:
X-Files and Desperate Housewives are just as shit as lost. And Buffy was trash, but saved by some great fast paced humour.

Spot on. Tho I am one of those Brits that really cannot stand ANY American show. For the life of me, I cannot understand how 'comedies' such as Will & Grace, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond etc, are SO popular over here!:huh:

The only US show I think I have EVER enjoyed, and still do is Cheers...:shrug:

(Not inc The Simpsons of course....this applies to REAL people!)
 
Arrested Development is very very good.

Yeah, I never understood the obsession with 'living room' sitcoms. They are simply the same story over and over, aimed at
different demographics. Boring.
 
In my opinion Everybody love Raymond is one of the best sitcoms of the past 10 years.

I really think we need to avoid the whole American/British argument though. For example, I love American literature. I think it pawned the best novels I've ever read. British literature, on the other hand, I think makes great kindling for a fire. It's just personal taste in that case.
 
Lost is fun. That's what I want when I watch tv. Pure, unadulterated escapism. And as that, it's just about perfect. :shrug:

If it doesn't do it for you, I suggest you not watch or worry about it. Lots of other dreck out there to veg out watching.
 
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