Lost is Lost

Wow.

Over the weekend I got a terrible virus. Truly terrible, let me tell you. My throat was so scratchy and sore that I felt I had strep. I’m telling you, I didn’t want to take any chances with this crap; I went to the doctor right away. But it turns out it was only a virus: A mild one, by the tone of my doctor’s voice. Felt like swallowing a brick.
I started feeling better yesterday though. Today I actually got around to e-mailing people, taking notes, reading…not quite the usual, but better then the nothing that had been the last few days. Tomorrow I’ll try and get back into my actual routine.
While I’m here, I wanted to talk about one thing and one thing only: Lost. It’s 8:30 as I write this, so Lost will be starting soon. And I’m wondering why the hell I’m even watching it. Man oh man; Rebeckah (Gabe’s wife) is not going to like this post. Don’t let her see it Gabe. Keep her away.
Lost used to be the best show on television. It was mysterious, fast-paced and intriguing. Okay, the first season was mysterious, fast-paced and intriguing. Season two was hit and miss. Season three? Garbage.
Last week they spent an entire episode on two characters they introduced earlier this season, and then killed them. The characters themselves were pointless. The diamonds they stole had no consequence on the overall fate of the survivors. Their storyline was completely separate from the main characters in fact. It was like they existed in a separate universe. It was a waste. What’s worse, the writers knew it was a joke and they continually referenced that in the dialogue and actions of other characters. Why? Good writing is moving the story forward and developing the characters you have in the face of interesting goals and conflicts to the achievement of those goals. Good writing is satisfying, unlike last week’s Lost.
I watched that episode and I thought to myself, “this is something I would write”. All the in-jokes were a blatant attempt at being clever. They were winking to us. Letting us “in” on the joke. Aren’t they clever?
Only one person on the planet can do that right now and get an automatic pass, and that’s Kaufman. I don’t want to see it from Lost, a dramatic series.

Don’t agree with me? Think of it this way:

In season 1 we had powerful moments like Locke walking after the tremendous revelation that he was once paralyzed.

In season 2 we have Damon Lindelof…erm, excuse me – Saywer…asking, “who the hell is Nikki?”

Lame.