Tuesday, September 30, 2008

LOST....best show ever!

Let me start off by saying that I was not an early supporter of Lost. I am at times, unfortunately, a TV snob. That being said, I almost missed out on perhaps the greatest thing to happen to TV.

When Lost premiered on ABC in the fall of 2004 I was indifferent. As its popularity grew over the first season, I became more and more sure that this show could not possibly appeal to me. How could a show with legions of fans and critical acclaim not be a piece of fluff that panders to the lowest common denominator? Did I mention that I can be a bit of a snob?

I finally picked up the DVD of season one just after season 3 started. I now humbly admit that I was an ASS. In the battle of my stubbornness vs. the Lost pilot, I was beaten to a bloody pulp. I have never been so instantly captivated by a show. When the white LOST logo popped up at the end of that episode, I knew that I had just become part of something very special. This show had it all it wasn't going to hold anything back. You go into the pilot thinking that you are going to see a dramatic interpretation of Gilligan's Island and you leave wondering what the hell just happened....in a good way. I had an instant moment of pity for the people who started watching it during the original airing, they had to wait. I proceeded to watch the next 22 episodes in 2 days. The writing and acting are some of the best that I have ever seen in a TV show. No disappointments. This was followed by season 2 the next weekend. Again no disappointments. Then my waiting began and it was brutal but worth it. I finally got season 3 and cruised through that. I watched season 4 on TV with everyone else and to my surprise, I kind of liked the waiting week to week. It gave me the opportunity to stop and think about the episodes, and with this show that can greatly enhance the experience. Lost is a very smart show full of Easter eggs and hidden connections that can be researched and analysed for hours on end, but you can also enjoy it as a casual viewer. Lost is truly a one of a kind show.

Watching Lost is a no brainer and I was almost the guy with no brain. I will say that this is not something that you want to jump into late. It's just not set up to be enjoyed that way. Fortunately, there are options available to get caught up. The most obvious is the DVDs. I will own all the DVDs and they will be watched multiple times. Another great way to get caught up is at the ABC site, they have every episode available in streaming video at great quality. If you are already a Lost junkie like me, I highly recommend Nikki Stafford's blog "Nik at Nite". She does an amazing job of recapping every episode and pointing out things that you may have missed.

The morel of this story, Just Watch It.