Lost

Right, after season one, which ends unsurprisingly with a cliffhanger, I can say with a clear conscience that I have been completed enchanted by this series, I’m Lost. Ingenious layering of atmosphere, mystery and excellently delivered storytelling are its main pluses. The acting performances are more than excellent, mainly Terry O’Quinn and Josh Holloway made the greatest impression on me (and paradoxically the main start here, Matthew Fox, made the least impression, but luckily he gets better as things progress, so we’ll se :-). Abrams really struck gold. Again. I have more complaint aimed at TV Nova which already aired the show just once a week (breakneck speed, I don’t think) and now, in a stroke of genius, they rescheduled its spot to an hour later. Excellent work. No wonder the viewing figures are falling. What more is there to say? I’m waiting impatiently for season two... In season two we get more or less what we got in season one, but this time it’s lost the moment of surprise. Although... Lost? It depends how you look at it. Surprise is the last thing that Lost is lacking. Let’s just say that now we got to know all the characters. No longer do we say “that doctor", but Jack (by the way, he really has got better and stopped being that squeaky clean George Washington type), no longer “that girl", but now Kate. Quite simply, what else is there to find out about these familiar characters? And that’s where the magic lies! There is a whole lot that we don’t know and have no idea about (or we have an idea, but as usual we’re wrong ;). The new characters that arrive on the scene, for instance Mr Eko and Anna Lucia (I was very happy with Michelle Rodriguez) intensify the pretty tense atmosphere even more (mainly toward the end). The last episode really took my breath away (unsurprisingly) and some issues raised in various discussion forums, that I previously ridiculed, are slowly beginning to niggle away at my brain. I’m looking forward to season three like a little boy to Christmas... Season three doesn’t start very well and more than a sci-fi/drama/horror it seems more like a tired telenovela. In comparison with the competition, the quality level is still a solid average, but “average" is no longer enough with Lost. One of the positive things at the beginning are quotes from or references to Stephen King who turns out to be a huge fan of the series (and the creators of Lost are huge King fans, too :). Somewhere around the seventh or eighth episode, season three sort of splits in two and from the episode with Desmond and onward, it offers the best that we’ve seen so far. And I think that the last 3 to 4 episodes are just the tops and I nod my head in appreciation at the creator’s guts to go quite THAT far in the last minutes of the final episode. After all, apart from a particular “thing", the series could end very nicely here (it’s true that a lot of questions would remain unanswered, but it could). You see, it’s like this. After watching season three, the two seasons preceding seem almost pathetic. I can’t wait for season four... Missing Pieces, which were issued just to view on cellphone, are all very well, but they don’t come out with anything earth-shattering. Apart from one important thing, sensibly not revealed until the last episode. And I admit that this “thing"made a satisfied smile break out across my face and again cranked up my expectations for season four right to the maximum... So season four considerably improved its entire storytelling concept and slightly lightened the tone of the whole series. A lot more is happening now than ever before. New people arriving in boats, glimpses of the future, revealing the past. All of this has had a beneficial effect on Lost. By far the best episode (maybe even of the entire series) was completely stolen by Desmond (The Constant) and even though the finale wasn’t as punchy as the ones before it, it was certainly extremely important. Although we haven’t moved on very far in time. I’m already racking my brains over what the fifth season will bring... Season five perfectly satisfied my expectations and tries harder than anytime before. Glimpses into the past reveal plenty of answers and while also posing more and more questions. I was a little disappointed that Desmond received less space, but frankly, I didn’t notice that his absence particularly mattered. All of the main characters undergo an evolution that I would never have expected. Jack, Locke, Sawyer, Ben, all these guys, just Faraday was a little in the background. In the last episode the creators keep their promise that everything was just a little different than we thought. And Jacob played a really large part in that, but not a word more. This is going to be a darn long year... In the last season six everything starts to become more foreboding and the final reckoning is really effective. A lot of things ended up more or less as I expected, but many of them surprised me just the way I like a season of Lost. I am really pleased that my favorite, Desmond, played a small, but damn important role in the events of the final episodes and stole one of the best scenes of the series. Kate finally revealed what her task was and Jack handled the ending with flying colors and, despite not liking him in season one, I found myself nodding my head at how cool he is. Throughout the series I kept on glimpsing Stephen King and getting occasional views of my favorite saga, The Dark Tower, and so I’m happy, I have already trodden this path myself and I’m glad that I could go along it again, just slightly differently. In a different format, you might say. And to conclude? Good and bad clash again in a never-ending match and for all of you who has a bit of a child still napping inside them, or if your fantasies haven’t crumbled under the weight of the obligations of life, this show is a dream come true. See you in the next life, brother. (29.10.2006) (vähemmän) (lisää)