Totally Lost......

[T-Shirt Ninja]

They said from the start that they knew exactly where they were going and that it would only be 6 seasons. They had the plot and the resolution in mind all along.

My understanding is that they had the overall plot in mind but a lot of fleshing out of details had to be done as time went on. I think it was well done. Other shows that tried that failed miserably (I'm looking at you, Heroes, and all of your nonsense plot holes).

[T-Shirt Ninja]

Never watched Lost.

Now that's a review of yours I would really like to see in the future! Whether you like it or dislike it, your reviews are quite entertaining.

[Adrift]

It was voted the best series of the last decade.

The first two seasons were some of the best tv I had seen at that point. That's what makes so many people frustrated that it fell off so far after that point. For me, the most successful show before that period was the Sopranos, and even that got kinda stale after the first 4 or so seasons. It was pretty much the same thing over and over again. It wasn't bad, and I didn't feel betrayed like I did watching Lost, but that ending was controversial too.

Heroes suffered a similar fate as Lost. First season was genius, followed by "well, okay, what do we do now?" And also the same can be said for the Battlestar Galactica reboot. Season 1 and half of 2 were awesome! And then...um...where are we going with this? The only shows I've watched an entire run of that didn't follow the "what do we do now" fate of post-season 1 success was The Wire, Rome (which got cut short and would have been marvelous), and Breaking Bad. And Breaking Bad had a few ups and downs in the middle there.

I think True Detective made a smart decision by going with a new story line and new cast each season. Keeps things fresh.

[Adrift]

They said from the start that they knew exactly where they were going and that it would only be 6 seasons. They had the plot and the resolution in mind all along.

I've heard them say that, and I just don't believe it. This recent interview with Damon Lindelof doesn't help either,

I remember sort of huddling over in a corner with a couple of execs, and they were saying, ‘It's going to be OK, but don't expect anything big to happen. ABC has had a hard time launching shows, 8 p.m. is the family hour, and it has no lead in.' And I remember feeling just tremendous relief over the course of this conversation because my fantasy was that would be this kind of culty 13 episodes and out show. Maybe like a Firefly. That was really the trajectory that I was hoping for.

That first season, really creatively, we weren't able to do any advance work until the first season ended, because we had a tiger by the tail. And because JJ and I had met so late in the game and put the pilot together so quickly and it was greenlit without a script, blah blah blah. This sense that the audience was feeling that we were making it up as we were going along was a very real feeling and I was the one that was like, ‘Now there is so far to fall.'

He later says that when he's asked people when they lost interest in the series it was right around the beginning of the second season, which is exactly how I felt too. I think by that point they had moved away from the original idea of maybe 13ish episodes and were then in uncharted territory. They probably threw a plan on where to take the series after that once they realized the show was a ratings success, and maybe even decided on the max number of seasons they wanted, but I sincerely doubt they thought of how to end the show till very close to the 5th or 6th season.

[Cow Poke]

I loved it. Even the ending worked for me.

I always suspected that about you.

[Bill the Cat]

Never watched Lost.

It was voted the best series of the last decade.

[Bill the Cat]

The plot was a bit convoluted but I don't think that should stop someone from watching it to see if they like it or not.

They said from the start that they knew exactly where they were going and that it would only be 6 seasons. They had the plot and the resolution in mind all along.

[Bill the Cat]

I loved it. Even the ending worked for me.

[Teallaura]

Never watched Lost.

Me too neither.

[DLAbaoaqu]

Never watched Lost.

[T-Shirt Ninja]

I liked the show. Unanswered questions and messy unresolved things don't bother me that much. I liked the character interactions and dynamics. The plot was a bit convoluted but I don't think that should stop someone from watching it to see if they like it or not.

[Cow Poke]

With each post about it, I'm getting gladder and gladder that I missed this.

[Teallaura]

Lost is much more a serialized, single story arc type show. There's one terrible episode I can think of that didn't follow that rule (a couple of dimwit greedy thieves that we've never really encountered before look for money and get whats coming to them). The Pretender was sort of a procedural, wasn't it? It might have had a story arc in the background, but each show solves a specific case. I think I watched a few episodes when it first came on, but I got bored of it. Too much like Quantum Leap, or any of the myriad other shows that attempt to do the same type of thing. I mean, cool concept, but I'm so spoiled by serialized TV now, that I can't go back to freak of the week type stuff. The exception is Blacklist, which I wasn't really into, but somehow I accidentally got my mom and dad into it. The story arc is much closer to the forefront in that show, but its still a procedural.

It was more of a mix - the background plot came more and more into the foreground. Problem was, they had little concept of where they were going with it. It followed the Fugitive model so the 'freak of the week' thing was more natural. It was a cute show, nothing great, but they still managed to totally muck it up at the end.

Yes, I like Quantum Leap.

[Adrift]

Sounds like The Pretender - the season before last was iffy and the final one was unwatchable.

Lost is much more a serialized, single story arc type show. There's one terrible episode I can think of that didn't follow that rule (a couple of dimwit greedy thieves that we've never really encountered before look for money and get whats coming to them). The Pretender was sort of a procedural, wasn't it? It might have had a story arc in the background, but each show solves a specific case. I think I watched a few episodes when it first came on, but I got bored of it. Too much like Quantum Leap, or any of the myriad other shows that attempt to do the same type of thing. I mean, cool concept, but I'm so spoiled by serialized TV now, that I can't go back to freak of the week type stuff. The exception is Blacklist, which I wasn't really into, but somehow I accidentally got my mom and dad into it. The story arc is much closer to the forefront in that show, but its still a procedural.

[robrecht]

I did not intend to imply better and worse in a moral sense ...

Well, it was worth a shot.