Which was the best?
I’ll go with Fringe. Better characters, better actors, tighter story. It’s like* X-Files *with a coherent plot and a mad scientist, and *Lost *without the bad parts (Jack, Kate, the ending).
Based on what?
I loved X-Files for most of its run, but its formula got old, and peeked too soon before it was done. Also, the convoluted mythology was unsatifying.
Fringe I adore. I hope it has a really satisfying conclusion this last season. But the jury’s still out on that front, and as much as I love the characters, the story, and the seemingly consistent mythology, nothing compares to the exhilarating journey that was:
Lost.
Characters were fantastic. Intrigue level set to 11. And every episode demanded an analysis from its fans. Of course, not paying off on any of the mythology it set up is a huge blow to its reputation and would’ve been hailed as one of the best TV series of all time if they could’ve pulled that off… but damn, if that wasn’t one hell of a ride. Some part of me still reflects on the Dharma Initiative, the weird elements of the island, the time travel, and the “Numbers” are forever burned in my brain.
Based on whatever you’d like it to be based.
I generally like to refrain from participating in polls I start because I know my opinion and want to hear others and don’t want to poison the well. But I like your answer and mine would be similar. If I were going to say a sentence about each in my way of thinking
- X-Files – excelled at sci-fi horror at a time when it was dead and nothing on TV, was must-see TV culturally during my teen years.
- Lost – had the most compelling structure and created a legitimate mystery at its core and a “what will they do next” feeling that almost unparalleled, might have been the most popular and the biggest cultural phenomenon out of them all
- Fringe – maybe the best episode to episode entertainment of them all, but never has been appointment viewing and hasn’t leaped into the zeitgeist like the other two did.
Voted for Lost, haven’t seen Fringe, liked The X-Files enough to co-host a monthly discussion group about it, but the last season pretty much destroyed the show for my wife and I.
The X-Files is one of my top 3 favorite shows ever, and Fringe is pretty great too. Hated Lost, though.
It’s not yet a fair comparison Fringe hasn’t has enough time to burn out and disappoint us like the other two have.
I’ve recently began watching the X-files again, I’d missed the last few seasons. Some of it has been difficult to watch on account of the episodes being so bad. I was watching 1-2 episodes a day till about season 6 then the rate started getting slower and slower. I’m in season 9 now and I have to force myself through each episode at the rate of about one a week.
Lost had a better format for keeping you in suspense and thus addicted to the show. Even after the show had jumped the shark I still wanted to see the next episode each week.
I haven’t watched the most recent Fringe series. I have it recorded. I’ll get to it someday. It doesn’t have me all that excited.
I guess the winner here is Lost for keeping my attention even when it was in it’s later years.
My heart says X Files, my head says Fringe. I only watched the first few episodes of Lost.
I voted for the X-Files because I haven’t seen Fringe and Lost is nowhere near as entertaining. I love the X-Files though. Actually I’ve been watching it again recently and, while before I was disappointed every time there was a “mythology” episode, now I’m enjoying them as much as the “monster of the week” ones. For a long time it was disappointing knowing it was all being made up as the writers went along, but somehow I’ve now made peace with that.
Lost was great in the first season, when the questions were about right and it was weird in the right way. After that it suffered from the same problems as the X-Files in that it just got more complicated and questions were piled on faster than answers, while the answers given were almost universally unsatisfying. I find it a lot harder to forgive Lost for this than the X-Files, partly because the X-Files always had the MotW episodes to balance the mythology, but also because the situation in Lost is a lot more static. The “truth” in the X-Files can change with time, as Mulder and Scully disrupt evil plans etc. Lost doesn’t really have that excuse.
Maybe I’ll look into Fringe.
LOST until the last season and you realize there was no intentions of tying up the loose ends and the season’s only dragged on to make money and keep the viewers hanging on.
X-Files definitely. A great combination of cop show, supernatural happenings, creepiness, grand conspiracies, and humor. It had a long run and got crappy near the end, but it had a lot of amazing episodes.
Fringe approaches greatness but it’s so inconsistent, and I quit watching last season. The whole parallel universe blew my mind at first, things like the typewriter to communicate with the other side were just genius.
Lost was neat for a couple seasons but didn’t really approach the level of Fringe and X-Files. Too many flashbacks and unresolved things.
I’ll hold off voting until then.
Lost was confusing and the signs it was being made up as it went along really showed.
X-Files had good stories, but was too pessimistic. No matter what Mulder and Scully did, the aliens were going to win, everything was futile and all they had was their time together.
Fringe is the opposite with great stories. Unlike X-Files, you think they might win. In the fifth season premiere, you have Walter sitting in a taxi cab knowing the plan to stop the Observers is gone imagining a happy song, seeing a daisy growing in the street. As long as they’re together and kept fighting, there’s still hope.
Definitely Lost. I like Fringe a lot, but Lost was like one of my all time favorite shows of all time (no that’s not redundant :p).
X-Files was garbage, IMO.
The best is …
the lost files , i guess ?
Have a nice time and watch 4 webisode of a strange serie :-).
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/145130ca40/the-lost-files-1