# Anyone Still Watch Lost? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844 "2007-05-20T20:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PerditaX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@PerditaX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerditaX)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/21 "2007-05-21T11:29:01Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I managed to power through the “unhappy times” and am enjoying the awesomeness now. [/QUOTE] As someone with a degree in Literature (“Would you like fries with that?”) I understand that sometimes you have to lay some “boring” groundwork in order to have a big payoff later. You can’t have have it exciting all the time; you have to have some exposition. You have to know _why_ characters act the way they do. In a novel, each chapter advances the plot in some way, whether to introduce questions, provide answers, give backstory or show action. TV narrative is different. It’s all about “instant gratification.” If a plotline isn’t summed up in an episode, if a something stays a mystery for more than a few eps, it’s “too slow,” and if you explore characters’ motivations, they’re “just more pointless flashbacks.” ☹ It’s kind of weird that the I love this series - that it’s structured more like a novel than a TV-drama - is why so many have given up on it. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/22 "2007-05-21T12:18:20Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] I totally disagree with this. While it’s true they’re much better than they have been, they will never be able to reclaim the wonder and mystery that captivated audiences back in Season 1, and arguably the first half of Season 2. That boat has sailed, and Lost is now just treading water… …and will be for three more years _sigh_ [/QUOTE] See, this is the same sort of stuff that people say every time a very popular show hits a downturn, and it cimpletely disregards the saimple fact that a show can’t always be good. Of course Lost can’t recapture the sparkles and cupcakes of season 1, because it’s not new anymore. This is the same sort of thing that people harped on Twin Peaks about, only it started even earlier than it started for Lost. I also think it’s pretty damn silly to assert that the show will “tread water” for three seasons, unless you’re privy to details of those seasons that the rest of us aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/23 "2007-05-21T12:20:43Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] I totally disagree with this. While it’s true they’re much better than they have been, they will never be able to reclaim the wonder and mystery that captivated audiences back in Season 1, and arguably the first half of Season 2. That boat has sailed, and Lost is now just treading water… …and will be for three more years _sigh_ [/QUOTE] _shrug_ Wonder and mystery is easy when all you have is questions and no answers. Once answers start coming out, the mystery aspect is lessened, and viewers have kinda been demanding answers for a long while now. (On preview: also what **Otto** said.) I don’t see that it’s treading water now, although I’ll agree it was in the beginning of season 3; serious plot has been going down for just about the entire second half of the season. It may not be a plot you like – maybe the plot is different from how you envisioned the mystery of the island unfolding – and that’s your perogative. Also, knowing that there are three more years is a _good thing_; it means the writers finally have a definite framework to work in; they know when they can safely reveal highly critical secrets, and how fast to advance the plot so that it all comes to a conclusion. It’s certainly far better than the state it was in previously, when ABC wanted the show to go on indefinitely. _That_ was why Season 2 and the first half of Season 3 were lackluster; the writers didn’t know how long they would need to keep the show going, and they stretched plot events out too long for the audience’s liking. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/24 "2007-05-21T15:35:39Z")
Still watching - more for the characters, the acting, and a generally enjoyable hour of TV than for the plot, which will almost inevitably be a let down. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/25 "2007-05-21T15:56:05Z")
[QUOTE=8675309] I quit watching halfway through the second season. [/QUOTE] I stopped watching the show after the, what, seventh or eighth episode of season three. But then I started watching again, a few months later. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/26 "2007-05-21T16:05:01Z")
Not only are we (the wife 'n I) still watching, we spent yesterday watching the first 10 episodes of Season 1. To tell you the truth, after re-watching I am _so_ glad that Michael/Walt are off the island. And I’m glad that the “Jack and Kate” show has receded into the (comparative) background. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/27 "2007-05-21T16:10:35Z")
Still watching and, for the most part, enjoying it. But I’m no longer invested in solving the mysteries and all that goes with that. There’s just too much to remember, and I need my brain for other things. I just watch the show and don’t give it a thought for the rest of the week. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/28 "2007-05-21T16:23:22Z")
Yeah, I’m still watching it. What did you need to know? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/29 "2007-05-22T06:49:05Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] See, this is the same sort of stuff that people say every time a very popular show hits a downturn, and it cimpletely disregards the saimple fact that a show can’t always be good. [/QUOTE] How is it “disregarding” that fact when it’s actually reinforcing it? Despite this, I’ve seen numerous shows that didn’t hit the huge lull that Lost did. The Office, for example, has had a few poor episodes, but it’s still far fewer than what lost has had. [QUOTE=Otto] Of course Lost can’t recapture the sparkles and cupcakes of season 1, because it’s not new anymore. [/QUOTE] Which was my point. The show should have ended with the second season, instead of being dragged kicking and screaming. [QUOTE=Otto] I also think it’s pretty damn silly to assert that the show will “tread water” for three seasons, unless you’re privy to details of those seasons that the rest of us aren’t [/QUOTE] I think it’s pretty damn silly that you care enough about a TV show to argue about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/30 "2007-05-22T12:02:30Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] I think it’s pretty damn silly that you care enough about a TV show to argue about it. [/QUOTE] That’s hardly fair. If you can complain about it, others can defend it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/31 "2007-05-22T19:57:28Z")
[QUOTE=BayleDomon] That’s hardly fair. If you can complain about it, others can defend it. [/QUOTE] Doesn’t change the fact that it’s silly. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/32 "2007-05-22T20:03:23Z")
[QUOTE=BayleDomon] That’s hardly fair. If you can complain about it, others can defend it. [/QUOTE] The others are defending? I thought they were attacking this week!?! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/33 "2007-05-22T20:11:51Z")
I think everybody agrees that the show is better without WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/34 "2007-05-22T20:13:50Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] How is it “disregarding” that fact when it’s actually reinforcing it? Despite this, I’ve seen numerous shows that didn’t hit the huge lull that Lost did. The Office, for example, has had a few poor episodes, but it’s still far fewer than what lost has had. Which was my point. The show should have ended with the second season, instead of being dragged kicking and screaming. I think it’s pretty damn silly that you care enough about a TV show to argue about it. [/QUOTE] My irony meter just broke… ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/35 "2007-05-22T20:28:06Z")
I continue to be amazed in these sorts of threads by how _intensely_ people who do not like a show can feel about that show, and about how personally they take the fact that other people do, in fact, like the show. About halfway through its present season, I realized that I had just sort of lost interest in _House_. Didn’t enjoy the way the story was being presented anymore. So, I mean, I just stopped watching. I can’t even conceive of feeling _angry_ about the fact that other people still enjoy it, in the way that the people who no longer enjoy lost seem about the fact that others still do. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/36 "2007-05-22T20:30:51Z")
I have a couple of friends who claim that they hate “Lost.” They badmouth it constantly, online and in real life. Yet they keep pumping me for details about what is happening on the show. Methinks they do protest too much. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844/37 "2007-05-22T20:49:22Z")
I’m as excited about this second half of S3 as I was in S1. Lost is the only show that I eagerly await every week (partially because of Dope threads). I have dramatically cut my TV intake over this last six months and Lost is nowhere near the CUT list. But, I can’t say I don’t get the beef about S3’s first half. It was dry. I almost ditched it (along with BSG). After about two episodes into the Spring season, I was glad I stuck it out. There is still a ton of mystery (without mystery, Lost is just an action show), but I feel we have gotten some REAL payoff. The concern is, next Season doesn’t start until February (so they can run nonstop until May). What kind of dropoff will we see? Not that I care. ABC has renewed Lost for three more years. I imagine it is a pay or play deal given the producer’s wanting to end the thing earlier rather than sooner. I don’t really care if the audience is small. I’m used to liking things others ignore (See Development, Arrested.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-still-watch-lost/404844.md?page=1)