Compressing Lost

I think Peter Suderman's exactly right about this:

A compressed season may not have been a good thing for The Wire (although, hey, it's still not bad), but I think it stands a good chance of improving the prospects for Lost. One of The Wire's strengths has always been its expert pacing, balancing the various needs for character moments, plot development, and plain old suspense. The true scope and complexity of each arc usually took five or six episodes to develop and another five or six to unravel before the last two episodes provided closure.

Lost, on the other hand, has had the opposite problem; it's been positively spastic with its pacing, usually too slow, and always too heavy on laying the groundwork for intrigue without providing nearly enough follow up. The creators are experts—perhaps the best on TV—at sucking viewers in. But they don't know exactly what to do with you once you're on the hook. A slightly compressed schedule could potentially force its writers to focus on what's truly integral to their story rather than on what's merely tantalizing.

Now whether Peter's right about this ... well, your call.

Comments

Now whether Peter's right about this ... well, your call.

He's certainly right that the YouTube mashup at the bottom is phenomenal.

Posted by right | February 21, 2008 5:07 PM

I disagree with the not following up witht the intrigue part. Lost is usually slow/aggravating for the first half of the season, and crazy good for the second half.

Posted by mad6798j | February 21, 2008 7:13 PM

Speaking as a Lost fan and addict, this show can't be mentioned in the same breath as The Wire. Lost gets sillier and more absurd every year, while The Wire still maintains critical realism. While Lost has moments of transcendence and beauty, it's unlikely it will go down in the annals of great television, except perhaps some praise for the 1st season.

The problem with Lost is that its writers and viewers are just too lazy for the commitment to realism and believable story arcs that make shows like The Wire or Sopranos great. Lost had the makings of greatness but blew it. Every episode, the show gets more absurd for the sake of a few moments of drama.

Posted by Scott | February 21, 2008 7:39 PM

I said my piece here

Posted by Freddie | February 21, 2008 8:38 PM