tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post3045243565611008981..comments2024-03-19T03:23:06.738-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Lost: You (still) want answers?Alan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-33671880779523859342010-05-05T16:32:25.629-04:002010-05-05T16:32:25.629-04:00asterisk8 said...
"Where is the law that says...asterisk8 said...<br />"Where is the law that says every mystery posed must have a definitive answer in the dialogue?"<br /><br />Lost built itself as a show all about these mysteries. So they created the expectation. <br /><br />"My favorite books, movies, and TV series are invariably the ones that leave thing to wonder about after they're done."<br /><br />I agree, but I feel that works best in a character-driven story. For example, I was a Sopranos fan. I really loved the Sopranos' ambiguous ending because I had to surmise what would have happened to Tony, knowing what I knew about his thoughts, his behavior. But I could do it because I understood the world he lived in. You cannot do that with Lost, with so many metaphysical questions unanswered.<br /><br />Damon and Carlton believe they are telling a character-driven tale, but we haven't seen much character growth in ages. Certainly this season there has been so little time for the characters because they're so busy walking to the beach then to the jungle, then back to the beach, then sailing to Hydra, etc. <br /><br />"Where was this sort of passionate reaction at the end of Return of the Jedi, when fans realized that George Lucas was not going to explain how the Force worked?"<br /><br />As someone pointed out waaay upthread, the Force was never posed as a mystery that needed explaining. It was easy to understand without an explanation, even as a kid (which I was when I saw it)--it was an analogue to religion, to Faith. We don't get that in a mystery show so invested in planting clues for the audience.Tuesdaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-9554185876032606932010-05-03T01:02:49.656-04:002010-05-03T01:02:49.656-04:00When the creators insisted that "Purgatory&qu...When the creators insisted that "Purgatory" was absolutely not the answer, my first thought was that these were people under some type of group hypnotherapy to cure massive delusions, which explained the intersection of their lives and the occasional bursts of sanity/awareness that were fleeting, not quite a breakthrough.<br /><br />As the seasons went on I ditched that idea because so many other details (Dharma, etc.) were introduced.<br /><br />With so much unanswered with only 5 eps to go, and the apparent "two worlds colliding" plot device obviously coming, maybe wasn't nuts after all. Maybe MIB/Jacob are just our yang and yin (logic vs faith, soul vs mind, willpower vs temptation, etc.).<br /><br />Whatever - I'm in this deep, I'm strapping in for the rest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-84209946452780497222010-05-02T22:40:09.369-04:002010-05-02T22:40:09.369-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lem_Fliggityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09535608734858978195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-76149103121802655092010-05-02T22:38:32.074-04:002010-05-02T22:38:32.074-04:00For anyone with a few minutes to spare, here's...For anyone with a few minutes to spare, here's J.J. Abrams giving a talk at TED on his personal take on the role of mystery in storytelling. If you've ever asked yourself, "Why pose a mystery on Lost if they don't plan on answering it?" here's an answer, from one of the show's creators.<br /><br />http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/j_j_abrams_mystery_box.htmlLem_Fliggityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09535608734858978195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-57036196805845384952010-05-02T22:33:48.222-04:002010-05-02T22:33:48.222-04:00As an avid reader and fan of movies, I thought it ...As an avid reader and fan of movies, I thought it was obvious from the start that certain mysteries would remain ambiguous. <br /><br />Where is the law that says every mystery posed must have a definitive answer in the dialogue? Since when has any movie, TV series, or book been held to such rigorous scrutiny and survived unscathed? My favorite books, movies, and TV series are invariably the ones that leave thing to wonder about after they're done. Where was this sort of passionate reaction at the end of Return of the Jedi, when fans realized that George Lucas was not going to explain how the Force worked? If anything, fans of the original trilogy balked when midichlorians were revealed in Phanom Menace.<br /><br />The way I see it, Lindelof & Cuse will ultimately fail for a certain segment of the fanbase, no matter what. There are those that feel as if they are "owed" something for the last 6 years of time and energy invested into the show, and in a certain sense they are right. I think it's debatable exactly *what* we are owed as fans, but I like to think that Darlton have thought about this. Until the final Bad Robot scurries across the screen, it's too early to say whether they've failed.Lem_Fliggityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09535608734858978195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-886406134461147252010-05-02T21:02:55.758-04:002010-05-02T21:02:55.758-04:00What questions do I want answered? How about all o...What questions do I want answered? How about all of them that were posed? Because why pose them then? Just to yank the audience's chain? <br /><br />This show has so little respect for its audience. Darlton knew there was an avid fan base, knew people were theorizing and doing freeze frames, etc, and they encouraged it by planting tons of Easter eggs in each episode, doling out little "clues" to their "mysteries", some of which now turn out to be meaningless or "not worth answering". What was their point? just to keep us busy? To take the audience's passion for the show's details--something they encouraged--and now dismiss it is the height of assholishness. <br /><br />For people on here wondering why fans don't accept the answers we've been given, I think it's because so much of the show has featured lies and half-truths that we don't recognize a straight answer when we get one. We've been poorly trained by these gimmicky writers.tuesdaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35126409303615047352010-05-01T00:58:37.915-04:002010-05-01T00:58:37.915-04:00This:
""Lost" will have its place ...This:<br /><br />""Lost" will have its place in history as the series that killed off serial story-telling as an art-form because the feeling of betrayal it will leave behind will be so intense that any serialized show that follows it will be met with distrust and ridicule."<br /><br />And this:<br /><br />"I will be disappointed if every single question is not answered. This is not unreasonable. If you don't have an answer, DON'T POSE THE QUESTION."<br /><br />I have been recently re-watching some earlier episodes of BSG and feeling the hollowness of knowing the blandness of those mythology questions. I am expecting this feeling to be multiplied infinitely for LOST. I have been a seriously dedicated fan since the first season, and have turned many friends onto the show, as I love sharing my favourite series with my favourite people. I am beginnign to suspect, however, that once LOST ends I will never be able to recommend it to a friend again; the thought of making someone sit through multiple episodes and having to explain to them "don't take is too seriously, they never adequately address the meanings or origins of this catastrophic kidnapping/implosion/genocide/donkey wheel/etc."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14510678835327208872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-73044145600151304412010-04-30T17:56:31.196-04:002010-04-30T17:56:31.196-04:00'The Purge' - Whose idea was it? Ben? Rich...'The Purge' - Whose idea was it? Ben? Richard? Why do it? And why would Richard go along with Ben, if it was Ben's idea?<br /><br />Also, per 'Ab Aeterno', Richard is the intermediary between Jacob and the people on the island. But back in Season 3, it is clear that Ben was the leader and Richard following him. How did that happen, especially since it turned out that Ben had never seen/spoken to Jacob.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-29466716628689766232010-04-29T17:12:23.578-04:002010-04-29T17:12:23.578-04:00If the Island is so difficult to find that even a ...If the Island is so difficult to find that even a guy with Widmore's resources couldn't do so before Desmond activated the "Failsafe key", then why would the Others need to build a fake primitive village and bother with disguises? Especially since they had access to hyper-modern technology (like the sonic fences and the underwater communication center), that can monitor their air and water space for invaders, not to mention access to a know-it-all deity whose main concern was protecting the island?<br /><br />Who were the Others preparing for with their "primitive" act?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15053267329894998262010-04-29T17:02:47.779-04:002010-04-29T17:02:47.779-04:00The "magic box" was the submarine. Ben w...The "magic box" was the submarine. Ben was just messing with Locke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5163131786303418192010-04-29T16:56:42.560-04:002010-04-29T16:56:42.560-04:00What was the "magic box" used to bring L...What was the "magic box" used to bring Locke's Father/The Con Man to the Island? Why wasn't it used to bring all the "enemies of the Island" (Widmore and his agents) magically the same way and have them eliminated without any hassle?<br /><br />I can't wait for the writers to claim they had no time to answer all the questions, yet they've spent huge chunks of time spinning their wheels on complete dead-ends, including the temple, Illana's crew, the 1970's, the Taillies, Widmore's elite task force (Charolette, Miles, Keamy, Faraday), heck, even the Others and Dharma qualify. <br /><br />Just like having the main characters walk back and forth through the jungle endlessly - and going nowhere fast - these dead-ends are what I'll remember most. "Lost" will have its place in history as the series that killed off serial story-telling as an art-form because the feeling of betrayal it will leave behind will be so intense that any serialized show that follows it will be met with distrust and ridicule.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71140178476948757952010-04-29T15:59:24.387-04:002010-04-29T15:59:24.387-04:00Seriously, I know the web would collapse in on its...Seriously, I know the web would collapse in on itself if this was the case, but how the island has to be a space ship. Nothing else makes even the tiniest bit of sense. It's a space ship, with a wheel, and electromagnetic power centers, and it moves through time and space using space-age technology. <br /><br />The radiation explanation for the women not being able to have babies doesn't sit right with me. We know that babies are only affected if they are conceived on the island, not if they gestate there. So, that seems to imply that the parents are passing something along that they have inside them practically from the moment they step on the island. It seems to me that if there is enough harmful radiation lying around that it consistently kills <i>every single</i> baby that is conceived there, it would be doing something else. Unless the island is keeping those consequences at bay, in which case, why don't people get sick when they leave?<br /><br />That seems like an answer that just leads to more questions.<br /><br />Personally, I would have been happy just knowing Libby's deal, but doesn't look like that's happening. So I'm ok with just riding it out.Chrissyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543960876991187244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12718855097315392242010-04-29T12:48:42.418-04:002010-04-29T12:48:42.418-04:00I will be disappointed if every single question is...I will be disappointed if every single question is not answered. This is not unreasonable. If you don't have an answer, DON'T POSE THE QUESTION.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36625633165575179452010-04-29T01:03:44.833-04:002010-04-29T01:03:44.833-04:00Here's one: what has been the smoke's moti...Here's one: what has been the smoke's motivation the whole series? Why kill the officer in the plane? Why let Eko live then kill him? Master plan? Bloodlust? I hope they tell us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-86069106425570434592010-04-29T00:34:09.983-04:002010-04-29T00:34:09.983-04:00My expectations have changed drastically this seas...My expectations have changed drastically this season. I now will feel that the writers/creators have outdone themselves if any of the following things come to pass:<br /><br />1. There is a flash sideways that is remotely believable/interesting.<br /><br />2. There is a single answer to a "mystery" provided that was not either guessed at ad nauseum in Season 1, or stolen from Science Fiction Cliches 101: The Lazy Chapter.<br /><br />3. There is a medical diagnosis that is less insulting to my intelligence than: "Oh, man, she must have gotten hit in the language center of her brain."<br /><br />4. Charlotte limits her one night stands with psychopaths to just one or two before she realizes she is Spanking the Monkey's "soulmate."<br /><br />5. Jeff Fahey is given a single line of dialogue that is not absolutely painful to watch. IE "Looks like she got her English back!!!!"<br /><br />6. A fraction of Lost apologists come clean and admit that this has been possibly the most squandered opportunity for greatness, NAY, goodness, NAY mediocrity, NAY, scant superiority to CSI: Duluth, in the history of the medium.Lepidopteranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35394602233165825932010-04-28T22:30:54.042-04:002010-04-28T22:30:54.042-04:00asterik8, well said!
Brian, yeah, I got nothing f...asterik8, well said!<br /><br />Brian, yeah, I got nothing for that. It will either mean something literally in the show, or it will be a motif.J. Maggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-8269093615488417452010-04-28T21:31:59.412-04:002010-04-28T21:31:59.412-04:00J. Maggio said...
Brian, you may be correct. ...<i>J. Maggio said...<br /><br /> Brian, you may be correct. It is interesting that apparition Walt--if it isnt MiB--and Christian--who I will assume is MiB--used the same phrase: You have work to do. Hmmm.</i><br /><br />True but Dogen's instructions to Sayid on how to kill the MiB were the same as the MiB's instructions to Richard on how to kill Jacob.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938108587626553500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35873028779866616022010-04-28T19:36:19.318-04:002010-04-28T19:36:19.318-04:00Instead of expecting answers, I come at it from a ...Instead of expecting answers, I come at it from a different angle. Instead of answers, we get mythological detail. I'm sure there's a formal theory here that I'm about to inadvertently mangle, but I'll do my bet to describe how I see it. <br /><br />A story, at its most basic, is characters experiencing conflict, right? Practically every effective story you can think of is a character going from the status quo, to a conflicted state which finally resolves into a new status quo. Stasis, flux, stasis. There are variations on that of course, but the two central elements: characters and conflict, are universal in every story we tell. <br /><br />Resolution often comes in the story itself, and is the raison d'être for the story, but mythology has always had a secondary component of self-realization, or gnosis. Basically, the deepest and most satisfying answers can come only from within oneself. You cannot be told the answer. once one has fully engaged with the story – on not just a narrative level, but on thematic, aesthetic, and emotional levels as well – then the answers are obvious. Until we have all those answers, it's perfectly natural that ten people will see a foggy picture ten different ways.<br /><br />Ancient mythology was so good at engaging on all levels that it became religion. When fiction does it, it becomes literature. Few TV shows have managed to fully transcend the confines of their medium without varying degrees of failure – The Wire being the paragon, in my opinon.<br /><br />I digress.<br /><br />Lost often brilliantly straddles that line between revealed mysteries and gnostic mysteries. In the end, the producers and writers will have given viewers resolutions to character arcs and a box full of puzzle pieces. The puzzle is for those who want to examine Lost on a deeper level. If you're interested in the answers to the mysteries, then, Darlton are saying, "Invest a little effort to solve them yourself." This is, after all, a show full of games. The whole show is a game in a certain light. Solving the puzzle might mean looking for patterns within the show itself, comparing Egyptian hieroglyphs, plugging Jean-Jacques Rousseau into Wikipedia, reading about relativity, analyzing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for similarities to season 6 (wink), etc.<br /><br />I get it that not everyone wants to take time to put a TV show under the microscope like that, and Lost certainly shows some flaws under close scrutiny (as any honest fan can attest to), but I don't believe Darlton can be faulted for attempting such an ambitious experiment in television. This is a puzzle show on a scale unlikely to ever be attempted again. I'll forgive them some stumbles along the way so long as the mythological puzzle pieces I get lead to some satisfying gnostic realizations while I'm staring into my fridge at midnight.Lem_Fliggityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09535608734858978195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-63893061273709771192010-04-28T18:49:51.919-04:002010-04-28T18:49:51.919-04:00Gridlock said...
I keep coming back to "...Gridlock said...<br /><br /><i> I keep coming back to "Ricardus" (latin! hint hint!) being on the Island "longer than you could possibly imagine" turning out to be "since about 1860".<br /><br /> If the rest of the show has hyperbole of this calibre then I guess it turns out Walt's talent for making PB&J sandwiches is why they wanted him so badly, etc etc. </i><br /><br /><br />It's only hyperbole if Richard was talking to a science fiction fan watching a TV show, hoping he's 2,000 years old. But alas, Richard was talking to a character on the show. Any normal person, especially a doctor, would find it unimaginable that Richard is 180 years old.Lem_Fliggityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09535608734858978195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-72010703674862380442010-04-28T16:58:43.800-04:002010-04-28T16:58:43.800-04:00I do agree that both the whispers explanation and ...I do agree that both the whispers explanation and the Locke revealing he was Christian answers were extremely lame.<br /><br />However, we can agree to disagree that 90% of what has gone on over the first 5 seasons, now makes sense in season 6.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36875512785997604522010-04-28T16:47:44.549-04:002010-04-28T16:47:44.549-04:00As per the "claimed" aspect, most of the...As per the "claimed" aspect, most of the fan community suspects that the claiming occurred after Claire blew up in the explosion in Shape of Things to Come. She seemed out of it, and dazed. Miles stared at her THE SAME WAY he stared at Sayid in the temple scenes. They even had the whole scene where Claire said "I'll live" and Miles said "I wouldnt be so sure." Also, she had the same semi-drugged look that Sayid had. <br /><br />Why would they, way back in S4, have Miles, the guy who talks to dead bodies, stare strangely at Claire? And then she goes off with Christian/MiB. He even says "I'm with him" about Christian in "Cabin Fever" the same way she says "You're with him" to Jack about Locke in "The Last Recruit." <br /><br />I do get frustrated because I feel that people want things spelled out for them. A little thought makes 90% of it make sense. I also feel that the lamest parts of show are when they provide "answers" via sill exposition. (See the Whispers explanation.)J. Maggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75494811361423236982010-04-28T16:32:23.892-04:002010-04-28T16:32:23.892-04:00Alan,
Dialed back.
I am sorry for ad hominen att...Alan,<br /><br />Dialed back.<br /><br />I am sorry for ad hominen attack of first paragraph. I am sorry. But, as per your rules, I stand by next two paragraphs.J. Maggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01155861990192119035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-77143856578459589352010-04-28T16:27:48.894-04:002010-04-28T16:27:48.894-04:00Also, if Claire was all of a sudden claimed as you...Also, if Claire was all of a sudden claimed as you say, why was it so easy to do so? Everybody else was on the same part of the island she was, yet somehow she was the one person claimed? <br /><br />We don't even know what being "claimed" means yet except that it is a sickness. To me though, Claire still seems pretty normal. Except for trying to kill Kate, she has interacted with everybody else as though they are still very close despite being away from each other for a few years. Sayid on the other hand could care less about anybody else at this point. So if both have the same sickness, the symptoms surely aren't the same.<br /><br />As Jennifer said above, the temple storyline that dominated the first 6 episodes this season was completely useless and has provided nothing to the story. With so much still left to tie up, I doubt they will get to it now anyways.<br /><br />Relax, J. Maggio, it's a TV show, no need to call other people out for how much attention they have or haven't been paying. People just have different opinions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26336236504389162442010-04-28T16:21:10.320-04:002010-04-28T16:21:10.320-04:00I must agree with anonymous that we're going t...I must agree with anonymous that we're going to get practically no answers. And that ticks me off. They had several seasons once they knew the endgame was set, and instead we're getting Dirty Tina Fey and Dogen and Lennon introduced instead of finding out well, almost anything. What a waste of time, man.<br /><br />I have to say that I've never been in love with this show. It has moments of brilliance/inspiration/crazy, a fair amount of so-so and some real turds, but it's not a consistent love for me. Probably because they set up so much cool shit and then never bothered to do much about it. And I don't think they are going to now.<br /><br />I'm not even mad about it, just kinda irritated/disappointed that C&L are the kind of guys who can come up with plots, but not finish 'em.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906089927390662087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-90077042604349800362010-04-28T16:20:43.839-04:002010-04-28T16:20:43.839-04:00Ha, I love people that get defensive when somebody...Ha, I love people that get defensive when somebody doesn't like aspects of the show or disagrees with the direction in which it has been headed.<br /><br />Thanks for shutting him up Alan. Keep up the good work, love you on the BS Report.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com