Sunday, June 1, 2008

Lost in a morass

I really enjoy the TV show Lost. What I really appreciate is its density, a quality I don't often associate with a television series. There's a lot going on, wheels within wheels, and this plot richness is married to a rare depth of characterization. I understand that, to some, these very qualities make the show a turn-off, that many people are looking for something neater and simpler to enjoy in their leisure time (as I do too, sometimes; I can enjoy the simple-minded Two and a Half Men, but it fulfills me on a different level than does Lost).

That said, I find the speculation engaged in by fans on web sites and critics in columns to be largely a waste of time. [Even worse are the people who try to steal scripts or comb through trash bins or bribe crew members to obtain spoilers.] When I read Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune or Alan Sepinwall of the Star-Ledger pick obsessively through the final episode, I wonder exactly what all this effort is being spent on. A little of this goes a long way.

If people enjoy all that, I guess it's fine with me. But there is a tendency to treat it like it's something real, when it is an arbitrary set of decisions by the staff. You know who's in the coffin? Anyone they choose to put there. Is he or she (no spoilers here) really dead? If Cuse and Lindelof have decided so, then yes - but maybe no.

I'd rather let it play out, enjoy this remarkable creation. We've got two more years, and I'm willing to experience this universe without guessing what's in it. Chacun à son goût.

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