#4. Lost (2004-2010)
ABC, Drama
Choice Song: http://www.youtube.com/user/ricco19#p/u/56/kkYpeN-9I-0
- Linked to user page because regular video has massive spoilers in the suggestions and I couldn't think of a more perfect video.
- Ah, now probably the most controversial write-up on my list... for myself. Ever since Season 6 ended, any praise I try and give to this show eventually and quickly becomes a multi-paragraph tirade towards its failings, missed opportunities, arrogance, and a seemingly neverending list of what they did wrong and why. Even now, it's bubbling up at the mere thought of, "It was all about the characters." However, if it's a long list of why I hate a show, how could it be number four on my top teleivisiion shows?
What Lost Did Right:
- They developed an ensemble of compelling, charismatic characters all with their own storylines, histories, personalities, countries, and different outlooks on the future and survival on the island. Jack, Sawyer, Locke, Ben, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Michael, Charlie, Hurley, Kate, Eko, Faraday, Desmond, Juliet, Claire, Walt. They all, at one time or another, had really strong and different characters from what was usually seen on television. Some, like Kate, Sun, and Sayid, fell into mediocrity for a good chunk of thier time, but they started off really really strong and were among the best characters in the earliest episodes. Boone, Shannon, Libby, Miles, Richard, Tom, Rose, Bernard, Lapidus, Mikhail, Rousseau, and plenty of others are also worthy of note for having some solid characters, but just as much strength as plenty of others.
- Lost's twists are some of the best I've seen and many still hold up after repeated viewings. Did they try to mine the twists too hard and too long sometimes? Definitely. One of the biggest controversies is the Season Six twist. But the best ones? The ones that stay forever in your mind? They're priceless. I'm not going to spoil what or when they are, but I've come up with at least fifteen in the last ten seconds. If you want 'em, I'll post them or send them in a PM so you can be like, "Holy crap! I remember that! That was so crazy!"
- Lost's story was refreshing and great. A bunch of strangers survive a plane crash on an island and they have to learn to live together or die alone, all while slowly uncovering the secrets that lie out in the jungle and dealing with their pasts and identities. Who are these people? Why are they the way they are? How do those events shape what they do on the island? This was Lost in its essence. It was lost along the way for shock twists, fantastic mysteries, railroading the plot forward, and ever-so-slowly uncovering the island's history, but when it really got into the characters, it was brilliant. The monster, the hatch, the Others: they're all the sideshow. Jack's pathos, Sawyer's vengeance, and Locke's needs are the three ring circus.