Lost- Caroline

Before the season premier, Lost’s directors doubted the show would make it big. They were hesitant to even plan further than a few episodes in advance. Today, however, Lost is one of the most buzzed-about shows on TV. With between 13 and 16 million viewers per episode, by any measure it is one of ABC’s most popular. Lost inspires more discussion than almost any other show, with dozens of blogs and even books devoted to dissecting it. And its fans are dedicated to an extreme degree. For nearly every episode, pirated call sheets or summaries of the shootings pop up on the web. How has Lost, the nerdy, science fiction TV show that no one thought would last, become such a huge sensation?

For starters, besides the first few episodes, Lost is incredibly well-planned out. Unlike some shows that continue until no one watches them anymore, Lost’s writers always planned on having 6 seasons. Plus, it has one long-running storyline. This may seem normal, but many shows have separate story lines for each season. Take Desperate Housewives. In the course of 6 seasons, one character named Lynette has been a stay-at-home mom struggling with 4 kids, become addicted to drugs, gone back to work to become a successful advertising executive, found out her husband had another child and taken this girl into her home after her mother is shot, gone to work at her husband’s new pizzeria, gotten cancer, had one of her kids arrested, become pregnant with twins, and had one of the twins die in childbirth. With so much stress in her life, Lynette should have gone crazy by now. But she’s not even affected by things that happen to her in other seasons. Lost is one of the only shows that does have a long-term plan. To quote John Locke, one of Lost’s main characters, “everything happens for a reason”. Skeletons that Kate and Jack found in a cave in the first season have importance in the 6^th season. Hurley’s winning lottery numbers, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, reappear numerous times throughout the show. Unlike many shows, Lost is not just a compilation of dramatic events meant to entertain and then be forgotten- fans can expect that most things that happen are part of the greater storyline.

Another inviting aspect of Lost is that it deals with deeper issues. It’s not just about material things, or petty conflict. The show is guided by philosophical questions: Does free will exist? Or all we all guided by destiny? Is there such a thing as coincidence? Or does everything happen for a reason? Is it ever possible to escape who you are- to remake yourself fully? Do people ever do cruel things without a deeper reason, or is love always behind their actions? When do people deserve second chances? Can you ever divide people, or events into “good” and “bad”? Or is everything somewhere in the middle? These are the kinds of questions that Lost seeks to answer.

Finally, to answer these questions Lost has an ingenious situation and storyline. The deserted island, the time travel, the flashbacks into individual character’s lives- all help answer these philosophical questions and create new mysteries. Not only is the situation and structure perfect for the show, but the actual events that occur are original and unique. A man who types in 6 numbers every 108 minutes because he believes if he doesn’t, the world will end. A strange affliction that causes women to miscarry on the island. A character who thinks the whole island is in his head.

Every week for the past 3 years I have found myself looking forward to Lost, eagerly sitting on the couch awaiting the newest episode. Watching Lost has gotten me through dozens of boring, tiring, busy weeks. I have spent countless hours discussing the show, trying to sort out its endless mysteries and nuances. Its combination of good planning, cool story lines and mystery, character development, and deep philosophical questions, has me, and millions of others, hooked. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the show has some very attractive actors.