In the comments to my previous post “Jake the Root Beer king” posted this:

I haven’t seen Lost. Nor do I think I will… I like my shows to have endings. That’s why I’ve stopped watching Heroes, cause it seems like it’ll never end.

First of all, let me say that I LOVE the show. For me, it is right up there with “Deadwood”, “The Wire”, and “Da Vinci’s Inquest” for all-time-favorite shows.

I started make this reply in the comments, but then saw that it would be a mile long, so I decided to put it on the front page.

Look, regarding any serialized (continuing story) show, be it anime or live action prime time drama, the problem is about “how it ends”. The network (be it ABC in America, or Bandai for Anime) wants to make as much money as possible with a successful series. The creator, or producers on the other hand want to put out a good product. With a serial, they will probably have an idea in their head on how the story is suppose to unfold, and how it is to end. Obviously sometimes the two sides confict. This usually results in superfluous “filler” and the show dragging . In our Anime Pacific Podcast Dane and I have complained about “filler” episodes when if comes to Anime series, so I am sensitive to it.

But to not watch lost because it is too long? Not to watch because the wheels came off Heroes, another serial, and therefore the wheels will inevitably come off LOST? That’s crazy!

First of all, Heroes has gone off the tracks because of the producers and the direction they decided to take the show in. They were fired in October, but I am not sure if a new crew can fix it.

Besides, why this should stop you from trying out another series? They are on different networks, have different producers, different writers. The only things they have in common are that they are serials and have a geeky edge to them: Heroes with its comic book origins, and LOST with its sci-fi tinge.

Us hard core lost fans spent hours analyzing screen captures like this one for clues:

If you are concerned about getting into a complex show too late, don’t be. You can watch the show on two levels. For us hard core geeks there are always easter eggs in the show, the mythology and back story that we gleam from minor dialog points, to freeze framing split second things shown on screen. Things like that Blast Door Map from season 2 are all analyzed and examined at fan sites like Lostpedia in microsopic detail.

Obviously for a casual fan, or for someone blowing through the episodes one after another on DVD, these little easter eggs aren’t required. You can totally watch the show from a larger prospective, looking the larger arcs. But for those of us who have to wait months and month for the next episode, debating and speculating on the mythology of the show is a way to pass the time, and is great fun.

At any rate I find the “needing it to end right away” thing a bit strange. As long as there is a plan for the story, and it is not wandering aimlessly with lots of filler, then what difference does it make?

Lost is going to be 6 seasons long. The producers have had it all plotted out since season 1. Things were dragging a bit at the start of season 3 because the producers had not gotten the OK from ABC to end the show after 6 season. But once ABC agreed to ending the show (unprecedented for a hit network TV show btw) that happened in the middle of season 3, the pace started picking up and there hasn’t been any filler since.

Also, in Lost each season has been like a book in a series (like LotR or A song of Fire and Ice), each having it’s own arc, but being part of a larger story. Making it easier for the viewer to absorb (Heroes copied this idea).

Again, you can watch LOST on two levels. Firstly, You can get invested in the Characters and their problems (”Will Kate choose Sawyer or Jack”? Is the female favorite) and longer arcs
or secondly (and optionally) you can also watch it just from a geeky prospective and get ‘lost’ in the clues, lore and obscure “questions”.

BTW, I think if you have actually watched the show you will be able to say that most of the “questions” we had about what was going on in season 1 have been answered. The producers have done a good job in answering questions, but also adding new ones as we have gone along. Maybe some people found this frustrating. Hence the “just let make it finish” cry from the casual viewer. But for me, I have been swept right along, and hunger for more. Anyway, now that we are in season 5 (of 6), we are at the point where the “new questions” have stopped coming and we are just gradually getting answers.

Now, Heroes tried to do the same thing. They have even gone so far as to label the “seasons” in a way you would a book, and to call each episode chapters.
The problems is the story has gone over the top crazy (to the point of self-parody), and I couldn’t care less about any of the characters. It all comes down to the writing, and the story decisions the producers decide to make. For example, I think the show would be much better if they had killed a few characters off for good. One of the problems for me is that no one ever seems to leave the show. Zachary Quinto (Sylar) and Ali Larter (Niki Sanders) should have been looking for work after season 1 and 2 respectively. But NOOoOOOooO, the writers seem to find preposterous ways of keeping those actors employed. I can imagine totally different seasons 2 and 3 without those two characters.

I think if the writing on Heroes had been better with the commensurate better story and characters, no one would be complaining. Work is about to begin on the 3rd Christian Bale batman movie. The Superman comics have been around since the 1930s. Who is crying out for them to “end”? The answer is I think that when the show runs out of creative juice (”jumps the shark”) or clearly has no direction then it is time. Case in point: If you could have put the original Star Trek cast in a magic machine to stop them from aging wouldn’t you have had them keep cranking out the movies?

Of course, the Batman movies aren’t really serials. A better example might be Deadwood. HBO killed off this amazing show after its 3rd season (too expensive to make) out of a planned 4 seasons. I think anyone who watched deadwood to the end of season 3 would say “OK lets have that final season”, and not “boy I am glad the show ended after 3 seasons”. Deadwood btw followed that “each season is a book” method.

The Wire went the planned 5 seasons and finished. Everything has been wrapped up, and stories complete. The producers had 5 seasons planned from the beginning, but would you demand for it to end after season 3 because it needs to have a finish? No, because it was amazing TV, and end was in sight. On the other hand, is there a great cry for a 6th season? No because the story has been told.

The new Battlestar Galactica is now finishing its final fourth season.

When that serial was in its second season, would you have had it finish then, or not watched it because it didn’t look like it was going to end right away? “Baaa, they are never going to find earth, this is never going to end!” would be your cry. But I think if you watch the show, you can see the producer’s 4 season plan has played out very well. Is anyone going to argue that the new Battlestar is not one of the greatest Sci-fi shows ever? (This is another show Dane has not yet watched BTW).

What it comes down to is that Heroes needs to end because it has become bad, and because it is clear the producers don’t have a plan. Not just for the sake of ending a show that ran too long.

Other serials like Surface and Jericho were short, but not because the creators wanted them to be. But because their respective networks (NBC and CBS) canceled them because of poor ratings. If you are a fan of one of those shows wouldn’t you have rather seen how they were intended to play out, rather than have them jarringly end because their plug was pulled?

What it comes down to in a serial is whether or not the writers and producers are putting out a good tightly written product. I hesitate to explain (and defend) the LOST story because I don’t want to give things away for people who haven’t seen it. But, one thing you can say about Lost, the producers have had a plan since season 1, and with the possible exception of some filler episodes in the first half of season 3, it has been unfolding very well, answering questions, but leaving viewers always wanting more.

You, as a new viewer, have the advantage of being able to watch all 4 completed season back-to-back. Those of us watching since the beginning have had to wait months between seasons! The first two seasons of LOST are suppose to come out on Bluray this year, so come join the fun! Then, if you are inclined, hop into some of the LOST forums and join in on the speculation.

And heck, while you are at it, watch Deadwood, The Wire and Da Vinci’s Inquest.

I just came across a must read blog post on LOST.

As I said above, the LOST producers managed to convince ABC (the network airing LOST), to end the show after 6 seasons. In this well balanced post, the author talks about how the show was able to tighten up and was no longer forced to air “filler” episodes. However he also morns the loss of some of that “filler”:

The scripts are better, the direction is tighter (even when the scripts are not), the acting is more focused, and the production values are second to none ..… by and large, this is the best drama on basic network TV, the kind of show that just dives right into the crazy stuff and expects the audience to catch up, as in season four’s “The Constant,” the best episode the series has ever done. But I really wish, sometimes, that we could get some very simple moments of visual beauty (like that season one shot of Sun bathing in the ocean) or some plot digressions that DON’T have to be tied into the master plot (season two’s “Dave” remains a series highlight for me). But this is the show Lost has become, and, as stated, it’s a very good show. So those moments of pining are few. But they’re there.

go read the article here and Ross Douthat’s on LOST take here.

He might have a point. I wouldn’t mind a bit more time for plot digressions leisurely Sun-in-bikini-shots like this one:

But Lost is definitely in move-the-story-along mode now.

Note: The last part was in a second post, however I have combined it with this longer one to make comments easier. I have also cleaned it up a bit for clarity.
Second Note: edited again to add Sun Bikini picture. If that doesn’t make you want to watch, well you just aren’t a red blooded male.

Alex