Halfway through the first season, I was really hooked. It seemed like they had a plan, knew where the show was going, had good writing, interesting characters, interesting stories.
The latter half of the season really began to stretch any credibility of having a reasonable explanation of what was going on in the show. Whereas during the first half of season 1 I was really excited to see where things were going, during the second half I was still interested but figured “this is going to end up resolving in some really corny way that leaves everyone unsatisfied”
But at least the stories remained interesting, so I kept watching.
This season, though, so far has been crap. There hasn’t been one memorable episode. The doubt of the second half of the first season is becoming stronger - they’re not going to tie this up in a satisfying way, it’s just going to be mystery piled on mystery until the whole thing ends in a cheesy half-resolution and we all feel cheated. But just as bad - the episodes ceased to really be interesting at all. During the first season at least the episodes themselves and the backstories were interesting in and of themselves. This season? yawn.
If I’d have started watching in the second season, I’d probably not have stuck around for long. I guess I’m watching now mostly out of momentum.
I’m still finding it interesting but I’d like a couple of the dangling plots tied up. The problem being that assuming the various plots are all inter-connected I’m not sure if any can be tied up without tying them all up. I still have some confidence that the creators have a plan and will wrap things up when the show ends and I’ve been pleased that there’s been some movement with the Raft People. The problems you’ve been having with the show are sort of endemic to the genre. Once the central mystery is solved interest will drop off (see Twin Peaks after the resolution of Who Killed Laura Palmer) but if the central mystery goes too long without resolution interest will drop off (see Twin Peaks when season 1 ended without the resolution of Who Killed Laura Palmer).
That’s the thing - it’d be nice if TV shows set out to say “We have a story that’ll take 3 years to tell and we’re going to end it at that” (babylon 5 did this)
Instead, Lost is a big hit, so they’re gonna try to make it go on forever by just stretching it out and constantly adding new mysteries until it’s a big jumbled unresolvable mess.
i really got into this show when it went into reruns after the first season. I really liked the first half of the first season, the second half started getting lame. The second season so far has sucked big time. VERY boring and the “story” has no end in sight. I have the last 3 episodes sitting on my DVR waiting to be watched but I just can’t be bothered. I’ll let them sit in case I am home sick from work or something and can’t find anything else to watch.
In other words, I agree.
This show won’t make it another 2 seasons. Mark my words. viewership will drop off siginifcantly shortly after the start of season 3 when everyone realizes it just isn’t going anywhere.
They should have done it like 24 where each season is it’s own story with a begining and and end.
Not quite sure how this would work on a show like Lost, without it turning into some mega-Gilligan’s Island with new people/threats showing up on this apparently uncharted island every few months. They have a number of mysteries set up at this point; what I’d like to see is the resolution to at least one major mystery by the end of this season while continuing the others and not introducing any more, and by the end of season 4 have everything resolved and have the show end.
Uh, I thought I remembered Damon Lindelof doing just that in an early interview about Lost. Well, he said that they had about three years worth of material outlined, and that the resolution was already worked out. It’s not exactly a promise of a set-length run, but it’s pretty good statement of intent, as far as they go.
I can’t really see them trying for a fourth season. I’m still really enjoying it, but any idiot knows it’s not a premise that can be safely stretched too thin. Even three years is pushing it a bit, as good as it is. I’m sure that everyone involved is keenly aware of the danger.
I have to disagree there; I think that Everybody Hates Hugo, The 23[sup]rd[/sup]rd Psalm, and Fire + Water are among the best of anything from the first season.
I could do without the clip shows, though. Why bother?
Because the story is so complex that it’s difficult for new viewers to come in. The clip shows serve as primers for those poor dopes who weren’t bright enough to sign on from week 1.
I meant why bother to watch 'em, really. I have a dim awareness that they’re helpful for people for people who missed all or part of what had transpired before. (As incomprehensible as that happening is for my media-saturated and -addled brain.)
Not that I really get how a one-hour overview really pulls any new people into the show, anyway – I try really hard to avoid acknowledging that a lot of the ratings come from people who are primarily interested in who’s going to end up bumping uglies with Kate.
I agree completely. I’d rather have a show that ran for three great years and then ended with a nice tidy resolution, instead of one that ran for six years and sucked for the last three.
That’s what I’m afraid of. They’re going to get themselves in so deep, they won’t be able to get out. There’s this feeling of, “We have to make it even more mysterious! More secrets! Let’s make everyone connected! Everyone knew everyone else before they got to the island, okay?”
If they get too unbelievable, it’s just ridiculous.
I didn’t start watching till this season, but first I bought the season 1 DVDs, to get caught up. I have to agree that I’m losing interest in the show, and becoming very skeptical about the writers having a long-term resolution in mind. I suspect the story is unfolding week-by-week for them, just like the rest of us.
The reason Season 2 sucks is that every 2-3 episodes you get weeks of repeats clip show or something else pre-empts it. I used to look forward to watching it every Weds but now I never know when a new episodes going to be on.
That’s my view as well. The creator may say he’s got three years mapped out but this season doesn’t really seem like it’s going anywhere. I don’t have much confidence that it won’t turn into something like “Twin Peaks” which just dragged on and on…
I’m continually amazed that a show that lasted 30 episodes is continually characterized as “having dragged on and on.” The first central mystery (Who Killed Laura Palmer?) was resolved in 17 episodes and the second major storyline (Wyndam Earle) was resolved (such as it was) in another 13. Yeah, I offered it as an example of a show that started big in the ratings and dropped off, but dragging wasn’t really a problem.
Hmm, I hadn’t realized there were so few episodes. But the shows feel very similar to me. My friends and I were hooked on the first few episodes but eventually we lost interest as it seemed like not much was being resolved. I didn’t wind up watching any of season 2. The same thing is happening to me with “Lost”, I’m still watching when I remember but I’m not upset if I miss an episode.
I gave up on the show fairly early. I still watch it because my husband likes it and likes to watch it together, but it’s a chore for me instead of something fun.
I got into the show in Season 1 around Locke and Boone and the plane. I still find Season 2 captivating - then again, I don’t watch much TV so I have nothing to compare to. Season 2 is still better than most of the crap on TV. The one thing I insist on in a series is plot continuity. I hate self-contained episodes, unless they give insight into a character. That’s why I’m big on Lost (even the flashback episodes) but not on, say, CSI.
Season 2 expanded the scope of the plot considerably. That makes it both more interesting and a lot slower. It takes a lot of air time now to advance the whole story because there are so many different subplots going on.
I’m still very much into the show (can you tell?), but the main thing that bugs me is the dangling plot lines. For instance, where the hell is Desmond and why is no one tyring to find him? Why aren’t they trying to pull CFL into their group-- she obviously has a ton of knowledge about the island (inlcuding where the radio tower is and how to use it) that would be incredibly useful.
But there’s a Catch 22 for the writers-- the show becomes uninteresting if they reveal to little, but it also becomes unintersting if they reveal too much. I don’t know how you strike the right balance, but they seem to be doing it by throwing out a bunch of bones every few weeks, and then just letting character devlopment reign for the intervening episodes.
I’m still very much interested. My biggest peeve this season is the increased number of commercials per episode. It really works to derail the momentum of the individual episodes.
A big problem is that perhaps outside of Eko and maybe Jin none of the character backstories have been interesting whatsoever. Most of them are just “duh”, filling out pointless details that we could’ve easily guessed at ourselves anyway.
