On Lost

For the last, what is it, five years(?), I have been told numerous times that I would LOOOOOVE the show Lost. I have listened to thrilled peers as they ponder and worry and wait with anticipation for new episodes. I'll admit, I was intrigued. And given the slightly (or greatly) supernatural nature of the show, I assumed what friends have about me, which is that I would love the show.

So finally a few months ago I began the Netflix journey. And here, a mere season and a half later, I am officially giving up. Well-acted? Why yes. Interesting? Why yes. Well-written? Well....while I think the plot lines are intriguing enough, maybe too much so, I absolutely hate the character development. It's a personal taste thing for me. I discovered a long time ago that I don't particularly enjoy watching people be bad. It doesn't not float my boat to watch deliciously evil people accidentally blowing heads off of young men sitting in the back seat of a car, nor does it ever make me happy when the bad guys win.

So when you take Lost, where bad is good is bad turns bad-it just frustrates and irritates me.

For example, when you begin to imply that a group of people who would steal children and hang people from trees are possibly 'good' or redeemable, or you have a terribly immature and bitter father to kill two innocent people and serve 5 others up for slaughter all in the name of saving his son then you have completely lost me.

The reason why I have always loved science fiction and fantasy is because it always presented interesting opportunities to test the true capacity or capability of man to overcome his base/animal nature to grow in his virtues, the things that make him or her essentially human and different. In other words, I like when you take an unbelievable situation and create a character who was believable, and experiement with how that character then reacts to that situation.

But what you have with this show is a bunch of people who to me, are not believeable.

For example, an African-American woman who would be a part of a group that would kidnap a child and torture a father for no reason other than they can and it's interesting is...unbelievable. Call me naive on that one-but so many things are unbelievable in the natures of the characters in this story. I could go through and list a bunch but it would take too long. I understand they are trying to build some of that unbelievability into the 'lore' of the island, that perhaps the 'island' brought this mix of truly effed-up individuals, killers, addicts, dishonest and pathetically victimized individuals together, for a reason. But to me I would much rather watch a bunch of folks mired in depravity IMPROVE their character rather than fall deeper into it while people keep dying left and right.


And that is just me and my taste. I like to watch things that make me feel good, things that horrify me without redemption. Other people are different. That's cool. There is a small chance that I could watch through all 7(?) seasons and find that redemption, but I don't want to, because if it is not there, I will be even more frustrated.