Lost, but not found
LIAM BRENNAN
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ABC
In previous seasons, ABC’s hit television show Lost was one of the most talked-about dramas in primetime. With the start of the show’s third season there was a collective buzz around the TV world about what would become of Jack, Kate, and Sawyer after the mysterious “others” had taken them prisoner. But this season the cocky executives of the network thought they would try a Dharma-like experiment for the series, breaking it into to two mini-seasons taking place months apart. The result has perhaps ruined the series and forced it into early retirement with the newest episodes garnering some of the lowest ratings in the show’s history.
But it wasn’t always this way. Lost took home the Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Series only two short years ago, when the show was still in its infancy. It quickly became the hottest show in the entire world, giving 24 a run for its real-time money. The concept was simple: island castaways trying to survive after their plane goes down in the South Pacific. But everything that came after the shocking pilot episode was completely unexpected: a bizarre smoke-monster making short work of various survivors; metallic hatches implanted in the ground; unknown island inhabitants kidnapping survivors. These ideas were groundbreaking and led the show to new cliffhangers each week.
As time went on the stories only got stronger, yet many believe that the recent addition of the “others” and primary focus on that storyline has put Lost off course. Where are Sayid, Locke, Hurley, Jin, and the rest of our favorite characters? The storyline appears to be shifting back toward the group, but it could be too late for the series. With plunging ratings despite some of the show's most dramatic and well-written episodes of late, it appears as though the show that moved in mysterious ways may have lost its audience.
It’s no surprise that the constant addition of new characters to the main cast would lead to unresolved storylines that have been left on the shelve to rot. The show has simply become overcrowded with characters such as the mystic Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) and the ever-annoying, wide-eyed Dr. Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell). These characters are well-developed but giving them their own episodes has slowed the pace of the show and taken the focus away from the actual stars. While Desmond is an interesting and welcome addition he needs to be more involved with the original cast to be considered entertaining by the hardcore fans.
The show’s strongest and most interesting characters, John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) and Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), have been absent since the regrettable death of Mr. Eko earlier this season. These two need to become the primary focus again in place of the now-overplayed Kate and Sawyer relationship that has become the Han Solo-Princess Leia for our generation. The writers have recently announced a timetable to conclude the show and resolve all of our questions, something they probably should have thought out at the end of the first season. Nevertheless, the show is still incredibly entertaining and fans should not give up on it just yet. There is hope in sight with the focus returning to the main island and survivors in the coming weeks, but time will tell if the audience has already set sail for new Wednesday-night adventures.
