LOST: Locked Outta Space-Time

I've become a LOST junkie. Usually TV shows with science fiction (SF) themes are beyond horrid - yes they're THAT bad. The regression of Star Trek (though Star Trek:TNG showed some upswing) proves my point. Since the TV public is not very discerning about the differences between science fiction and fantasy, the former quickly regresses to the latter and we're back in a retro medieval costume saving damsels from dragons and all that crap.

And then there's LOST. The logical successor to a fine line of SF: Dr. Who, Brazil, Back to the Future, Star Trek's "Cause and Effect", Jacob's Ladder, Twelve Monkeys, The Third Policeman, Philip K. Dick's Valis, Groundhog Day, Dark City, The Matrix, Identity, Open Your Eyes, Pan's Labyrinth  and - dare I say it - even the recent Premonition. LOST freely borrows from 'em all. What sets LOST apart from all other TV shows and especially from the execrable Heroes with its übermensch is the central mystery the characters have to solve: "Where, when, why and who are we?"

Theories abound on the net. Are they all dead à la Jacob's Ladder? Is it a role playing game (RPG) crossed with Survivor? Perhaps the island has special powers and it sucks people to it on a regular basis. If so, how does this explain the deep connection between the people on the doomed Oceanic flight 815 before they even got to the island? Who is Jacob, why can't he be easily seen and why does his hut randomly move around the island? Why do some people quickly heal - Rose's disappearing cancer, Locke surviving a gunshot, Patchy mysteriously reappearing after being killed - while others die (Charlie, Ethan, Shannon, Boone, Ana-Lucia, Goodwin, Libby, Eko etc.) ? What is the nature of the smoke monster? What's up with the island's projection and sound system? It seemingly has the ability to apparate people and objects at will with the whispers heralding a new projection.



Besides its surreal landscape, LOST indulges in furious name dropping with some creative juxtapositioning: John Locke, Danielle Rousseau, Richard Alpert, Desmond David Hume, Charlotte Staples Lewis, Daniel Faraday, George Minkowski, Penelope Widmore, Mikhail Bakunin to name a few! What does all this add up to? The LOST writers are clearly head and shoulders better than most TV writers. By announcing that the show will end in three seasons, they've confidently started staking out the endgame. At the very end of season 3 and now in season 4, the show features flash-forwards which is a new dramatic device. Rather than be one possible future, the writers have indicated that it is THE future. This season is about how the Oceanic Six makes it off the island, the next season is about why they need to get back to the island and the final season is about what happens when they do get back - if it's even an island. Barring the obvious idea that it is all a simulation, I cannot see how the writers can resist a deus ex machina approach to story resolution. But I don't care. As long as it hangs together, treats the characters with respect and provides a plausible resolution, I'll be happy.

The best LOST recaps that I've found are by Fishbiscuit and J. Wood. The Lost and Philosophy book looks intriguing.