Life without Lost

I have been wondering whether to blog about Lost since the finale a month or so ago and have decided just to write a short piece summing up my reaction to a show which has been a huge and brilliant part of my life for the last six years. Now I apologise in advance for what will be a rhapsodic piece.

Lost as a television programme viciously splits opinion, either driving viewers mad with frustration or drawing them in to the world of the show. I for one am the latter viewer. Firstly I believe the reason behind this is the distinctly literary nature of the show. What I mean by this is that unlike ‘traditional’ television drama’s and soap operas that operate on a ‘realist’ basis, shows like Lost (Twin Peaks, Ashes to Ashes to name a few others) work more on a level with the modernist novel, incorporating within them elements of symbolism, intertextualities, mystery, common themes and recurrent elements all appearing through various narrative episodes. This leads to a more neurotic and challenging viewing experience, not simply chewing gum for the brain as the viewers must constantly engage with various elements introduced over the weeks. Essentially at its heart Lost has been based on a conflict between science and literature, science and faith, divisions which can be very black and white and which lead directly to such a division in popular opinion.

What the show does do is masterfully construct characters and situations which all crossover in a way that only the greatest writers, for print or screen, can pull off. It is this combination of the mysterious and the realistic, the strange elements that take place on the island versus the more realistic human relationships which take precedence off it that make the show so special.

Now, on to the finale. If you watched the ending and didn’t like or understand everything I read a great blog by one of the writers afterwards during my trawling of the copious lost forums in a desperate search for explanation and clarification. I’ll post the link up here for anyone who wants to give it a read, I found it highly illuminating: http://www.theoriesonlost.com/2010/05/everybody-you-have-to-read-this/. Now following this there is not a lot else I can say that has not already been said. All I will say to finish is that following the finale the show has securely crystallised in my memory as a brilliant piece of television that has kept me gripped throughout, will always stay with me and most importantly will take a hell of an effort to be topped by another shown in my lifetime.