It seems like Lost has sort of set a new theme for television dramas. One where we are pulled deeply into their universe, where the selected characters all interact somehow outside of the microcosm we’re shown.
Take Heroes for example. The premise of the show is that there are people with super powers. Hiro is a japanese office worker who can bend space and time. Niki is a porn star online. As it turns out Hiro’s best friend watches Niki’s porn.
Do you think that this is going to be lasting style? Or is it a television fad?
Yeah I guess I wasn’t totally clear. I’m saying that it seems like Lost really emphasized the interconnectedness of characters. And Heroes is following in those footsteps.
I can’t think of another TV for which it’s been such a big deal - people posting still shots of Random Dude on a Ladder in the background and arguing over who he might be - but it’s always been one of my favorite movie techniques. Altman, for one, loves to write stories where everyone is connected, only they don’t know it and we learn their inter-relationships slowly as the movie progresses. Sometimes they’re not even thematically important relationships, but I still find them fascinating.
Humorously enough people at the improv theatre I work at have been discussing just such a game / long form, we’re not really sure how it would work yet but it’s being played around with.