The writer’s strike has made a few things abundantly clear to me: first of all, I didn’t waste away like I originally thought. With a mixture of new episodes rationed by the networks and tuning into the new-to-me reruns of shows I’d lost track of, the past three months really haven’t been all that painful.
Next? I definitely affirmed my abhorrence for reality television. Technically I suppose shows like The Amazing Race, Extreme Home Makeover, and American Idol (and Don’t Forget the Lyrics, which is actually entertaining) qualify as reality TV, but when I think of that moniker, I think of god-awful programming like Who Wants to Sleep With My Wife* and How Many Despicable Caricatures Can We Cram Into One Household*, and anything with half-dressed women beating the crap out of people. Oh, and Donald Trump.
Finally, my reaction when LOST returned confirmed what I’d been suspecting all along: it is by far my favorite show on television. I have to say, it tops Veronica Mars. I know. Please don’t throw anything at me. I figured this jaw-dropping revelation out because as much as I loved and adored and wanted to marry Rob Thomas for creating VM, and as much as I looked forward to it returning after each summer hiatus, the opening strains of its score never did move me to tears the way LOST’s can — and regularly does.
I’ve started over at Season 1 and I cannot get over the brilliance of this astounding, epic television series. The fact that Damon and Carlton (and JJ) can continually combine in-depth character studies with action and intrigue and mystery and passion and evoke the entire range of human emotions is utterly baffling to me.
I loathe certain characters, but not because they’re poorly constructed. Sawyer and Locke are two of the most complex characters I’ve ever seen. I still loathe them, but they’re incredibly interesting. Kate Austen is probably my favorite character this side of a certain teenaged blonde detective. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the character herself, how Evangeline Lilly portrays her, or the fact that, minus the criminal past, I could be Kate, or all of the above, but there you go. I could write pages about Jack. And Juliet. And Ben.
And let’s not even get me started on the beautiful mess that is Jack and Kate. The clip I included at the bottom of the post is so beautiful it makes me think, just for a moment, that love like this is actually possible. I’ve watched it a half-dozen times and get all tingly and teary-eyed every time. (I wonder if I could hire D&C to script my life…hell, I wonder if I could hire Evangeline Lilly to be me…)
It doesn’t surprise me that viewing has tapered a bit since the first season, even though, contrary to certain haters’ opinions, it continues to be one of the highest-rated and highest-viewed series on TV. The gawkers tuned in, and then their ADD led them to other less complicated fare. Like, you know, According to Jim. As Matthew Fox so succinctly put it regarding the whiners and complainers, “Good riddance. The people who rag on it…aren’t strong enough fans, really. Those people are copping out.”
Exactly, Matthew. Exactly.
I have viewed this show as a chess game from the minute we see Jack’s eyes open in the series premiere. Apparently, Damon concurs: “In the first six moves, we’ve lost our queen and two bishops, and the audience is saying, ‘They are the worst chess players in the world!’ What they don’t realize is that we’re nine moves away from checkmating you. If we lose, we lose. But that’s the play, and we’re standing by it.”
I wonder if Damon’s wife would mind that I have a ginormous crush on her husband.
“The Beginning of the End” was a fantastic beginning to Season 4, and “Confirmed Dead” didn’t disappoint one iota. The new characters are as intriguing as The Others were, and now that the strike is over, the news that D&C are striving to get eight additional episodes on the air before the end of the season is exhilarating.
* – Shows are actually not in existence, but they may as well be.
