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Dan Abramson

Dan Abramson

Posted: May 19, 2010 08:57 PM

Why I'm Looking Forward to the "Lost" Finale

What's Your Reaction:

I can't wait for the "Lost" finale. Can't waaaaaait! It's gonna be so awesome. All my questions will be answered. Why are they there? Is it purgatory? How come the fat guy hasn't gotten skinnier despite being on a deserted island??!?!? How come everyone's facial hair looks so good? Do they have wifi? I must know!!!!!!

Oh wait. Strike that. I've never seen an episode. And THAT is why I can't wait to find out how it ends.

I'm tired of not being in the know. When everyone at the lunch table (the lunch table is the new water cooler) is discussing the previous night's episode, I'm forced to sit by myself at the water cooler (the water cooler is the new lunch table) not being included. This show lends itself to people ignoring others (me) and that's not cool. There have been countless conversations where I've stood around, awkwardly nodding along as people discussed how the show's "gone downhill but what was up with that flashback?" Then when I acknowledge I've never watched, I'm greeted with people saying "What the hell? You have to rent all the DVDs and watch this weekend."

No. I don't tell them to go spend 90 hours doing something just because I like it. That's inconsiderate. And a little self-centered.

But alas, it's over soon, which means that the playing field will be evened. As someone who owns a computer, I will be unable to escape the plethora of coverage the finale will receive. The moment I sign on to Facebook or Twitter or even my favorite Buffalo Bills blog, I'll be bombarded with the revelations from the show's swan song.

And then, I will know just as much as the folks who were driving themselves insane trying to solve the show's mysteries. I'll have the same answers as them -- without ever having to watch an episode.

Yes, you may argue that it's the not same. That the frustration and ignorance is part of the fun. That I missed out on the joy of watching it all develop. To that I say: I do not care. I've never cared. And now, not only will I know just as much as you, but I'll have exerted no energy to find it out.

 

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I can't wait for the "Lost" finale. Can't waaaaaait! It's gonna be so awesome. All my questions will be answered. Why are they there? Is it purgatory? How come the fat guy hasn't gotten skinnier despi...
I can't wait for the "Lost" finale. Can't waaaaaait! It's gonna be so awesome. All my questions will be answered. Why are they there? Is it purgatory? How come the fat guy hasn't gotten skinnier despi...
 
 
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SCboy
Dogs are people too.
03:29 PM on 05/23/2010
It's a TV show. Dallas ended; Seinfeld ended; The Sopranos ended. The earth did not spin off its axis.
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AudsMom
No YOUR micro-bio is empty
12:13 AM on 05/24/2010
you don't know...mess with the island and something like that could happen!!!
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Aardvaark
I'm a Swedish American, son of China Missionaries
02:47 AM on 05/22/2010
I just saw the fake trailer for the last episode of Lost on the Tonight Show. Perfect.
08:42 PM on 05/21/2010
If you haven't seen the show then watching the finale will only create more questions.

And the reason Hurley is still fat is not actually a mystery of the show. It can be easily deduced.

I personally want to know what the numbers mean (probably won't fins out), I want Walt to come back and I want them to tell us what the hell his special powers mean/are (also not probable), and I want to know the man in blacks name (that I'm confident they'll share).
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thesmogger
12:02 PM on 05/21/2010
I cannot explain how much I'm going to miss this show - it's honestly tearing me up that it will be over on Sunday. As far as I'm concerned, Damon and Carlton should receive an Emmy this year for the cumulative work they've done on the show. Everything about it will be missed - the written, the clues, the searching, the characters, and most of all, the intelligence of the show. I don't think there's anything close to it that asks you to ask so many questions or ties in so many cultural and literary references to play along with its viewers. It's truly a huge accomplishment. I'm honestly mesmerized by the amount of work that had to go into this show - the historical and literary connections alone are mind blowing. http://thesmogger.com/2010/05/20/looking-at-lost-the-literary-connections/
01:04 AM on 05/21/2010
Ah Dan, so what if you watch the finale? Those of us who have watched the show will still know more about it than you. If you watched the show, you would know that we often know what happens ahead of time. For example, we were shown in the season 3 finale that the survivors get off the island. But we don't see how they were able to do it until the season 4 finale. Part of the journey of Lost is seeing how the characters get where they are going.

You are making the same mistake a lot of people make who haven't seen the show. You assume it's all about mystery and sci-fi. And yes some of it is. However, much of Lost has to do with the character arc. Just because you see the resolution of the character arc, the answers to some of the mysteries in the finale, doesn't mean you really understand Lost. In fact, don't be surprised that after you watch the finale, you find yourself wondering about the journey of the characters. What brought them to the end?
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Aardvaark
I'm a Swedish American, son of China Missionaries
10:20 PM on 05/20/2010
As far as I'm concerned, it is a blown-up rip-off of Gilligan's Island. The premise is just as stupid, but to me, Gilligan was far more entertaining.

That many people disappear in an airliner, and nobody finds them? All the black box and emergency beacons don't bring help? There's too many people scattered around the world for the Lost not to be found. Gimme a break.

I'm sure that there was good acting, and probably good writing, but at the start, the suspension of disbelief was just too much for me.
04:20 PM on 05/21/2010
The suspension of disbelief for Lost is too much for you? Yet you have no problem believing that those people on Gilligan's Island couldn't find a way off that island for 20 years, even though countless other people landed on the island and managed somehow to leave, and even though they were probably only like, 2 miles from Oahu, even though the Professor was able to build all manner of electric communication devices yet could never reach anyone to save them? As for your incredulity about airplanes never being found in the Pacific, ever hear of Amelia Earhart?
04:40 PM on 05/21/2010
Just 1 more quick comment Ant Eater. Judging by the shows you keep mentioning in your posts - Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeanie - I'm guessing it's not so much the suspension of disbelief that bothers you about Lost as it is the complexity of the narrative that you can't quite grasp. The depth of literary references to authors and philosophers you've never heard of and to books you'll never read must be quite confusing and frustrating. It's okay, the world needs janitors too.
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Aardvaark
I'm a Swedish American, son of China Missionaries
07:56 PM on 05/21/2010
Read what I wrote. I wasn't criticizing the complexity of the narrative, dialog, or or acting ability of Lost, was I? I said nothing about philosphies or cultural and literary references and subtleties of plot, did I? I didn't insult the viewers who enjoyed it. I've been reading fantasy, science fiction, and all sorts of fiction for over 55 years, so I am entirely capable of suspending disbelief. It's the basic premise I can't believe because it's a drama, not a comedy or fantasy.

A boat lost in the 60s with a few people on board anywhere near Hawaii isn't credible. I'm willing to go along with it for the jokes. A genie coming out of a bottle is obviously fantasy. The "Lost Horizon," airplane crash, set in 1935 Himalayas in a distant and largely unexplored land was plausible to westerners. Amelia was lost 70 years ago, and had none of the locating or navigation equipment we have now.

The problem may be because I have been a pilot for over 40 years. I know full well the efforts that are expended to find a downed airplane, especially with all of the satellite and other radios, emergency beacons, black box beacons, tracking of aircraft, search capabilities, and the efforts that relatives would exert to find the lost. This is supposedly an airliner with many people on board. That's why I find the premise stupid, and unbelievable, and it all stems from my experience and the setting.
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Aardvaark
I'm a Swedish American, son of China Missionaries
08:00 PM on 05/21/2010
(Continued)
I've also undergone land and sea survival and read enough aircraft accident reports to add to my lack of credibility for the program. I also don't bother watching Survivor. Yes, I understand it's an artificial setting, and it's supposed to have us engrossed in the human interactions, but to me it's just a very artificial game show with little reality.

If you want to insult my intelligence, go ahead, but please actually read what I wrote, not what you supposed I was saying. I know you're a fan of the program. I'm not because I see it as an attempt at realism that has too many glaring unrealities for me to enjoy. I didn't say that others shouldn't find it enjoying or enlightening, or insult their intelligence because they watched it.

Your Mileage May Vary, and it's obvious you had a different reaction to it. That's fine, but please read what I actually wrote instead of assuming I was insulting fans.
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thesmogger
02:51 PM on 05/20/2010
I can not explain how much I'm going to miss this show - it's honestly tearing me up that it will be over on Sunday. As far as I'm concerned, Damon and Carlton should receive an Emmy this year for the cummulative work they've done on the show. Everything about it will be missed - the written, the clues, the searching, the characters, and most of all, the smart-ness of the show. I don't think there's anything close to it that asks you to ask so many questions or ties in so many cultural and literary references to play along with its viewers. It's truly a huge accomplishment. I'm honestly mesmerized by the amount of work that had to go into this show - the historical and literary connections alone are mind blowing. http://thesmogger.com/2010/05/20/looking-at-lost-the-literary-connections/
02:24 PM on 05/20/2010
You missed an amazing experience. I do understand your attitude, even beyond the "comedy" idea here.

Unfortunately, you use the words frustration and ignorance rather than mystery and imagination. There was never frustration, except for those with no patience. Perhaps the show actually taught some folks patience. There was never any ignorance, as most Lost fans went all over the web to read of philosophies and history which were pertinent to the show, things many folks had no prior exposure to.
No, it was a great experience, a learning experience.
And as an art form, it was incomparable. It was a 100+ hour movie. Where nearly every episode had at least one excellent Twilight-Zone-like stunner; some where I'd literally jump up from the couch! And a show that kept everyone guessing right up to the end. Brilliant. Really glad to have participated.
As Morpheus said in The Matrix, there's a HUGE difference between knowing the path, and walking the path. But hey, that's Life.

So I write all this nonsense as this comedy blog was more sour grapes than humorous viewpoint.
It was funny though that you're a Facebook Twitterer. Talk about frustration and ignorance! Now that is funny.
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Aardvaark
I'm a Swedish American, son of China Missionaries
10:27 PM on 05/20/2010
Like Dan, I found the whole thing unbelievable, especially the premise. Twilight Zone? Rod Serling and his succeeding writers for the Twilight Zone would get a big laugh out of that one. They were often improbable, but set in an alternate (and often improbable) universe. I dream of Jeannie is more like it for a premise.
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extropymine
Can't sleep, someone is WRONG on the internet.
10:47 AM on 05/20/2010
Snarky is tiresome.
10:13 AM on 05/20/2010
Wait a minute, Dan. All this time I thought "Lost" on the on-screen cable listings was just the video equivalent of "Bad command or file name" on my computer. I would always flip by that one, on the computer and the TV. From what you've said here, I guess I did the right thing. All those un-answered questions? The most I can live with is a three part special, that way I only have to put up with fourteen sleepless nights. I have trouble with a ninety second commercial break, for God's sake! And I still have to avoid openning a book any later than noon. Whatever happened to Captain Kirk who could meet and defeat a dire threat to the entire universe in twenty-two minutes? Ahh, the good old days!!
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Aardvaark
I'm a Swedish American, son of China Missionaries
01:22 AM on 05/22/2010
LOL, but Star Trek was an hour show, so his dire threats to the universe lasted more like 45 minutes of actual program.
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Artazachxes
09:42 AM on 05/20/2010
Well, you sure did waste time writing this. NO point.
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Aardvaark
I'm a Swedish American, son of China Missionaries
10:29 PM on 05/20/2010
There is a point: it wasn't worth his time. I happen to agree. Your mileage may vary.
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Artazachxes
10:40 AM on 05/22/2010
I just find it odd when people spend time writing/talking about things they don't care about...
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AraBrokenDreamer
09:12 AM on 05/20/2010
I watched season 1 and half of season 2 before I just said to to heck with it. Not gonna watch the finale, not gonna care. I'll just read what happens, read my friends' responses online, and savor the fact that I only wasted a year and a half, not six and a half years with it.

I wonder what will fill the void in these fans' lives now, lol? Who knows, and who will care about that show any more than this one? -Ara
06:12 AM on 05/20/2010
Lol... I never watched the show either... But im gonna watch the finale :D
02:27 AM on 05/20/2010
Sitting on my ass watching Lost counts as exerting energy? Excellent, I thought I was lazily enjoying my summer vacation when I watched 30 episodes last week, but evidently not. Seriously though, if you get going right now, watch non stop and skip some of the unimportant parts of season 3, you'll make it just in time for Sunday night. Enjoy!
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
01:35 AM on 05/20/2010
I feel the same way about sports.
06:13 AM on 05/20/2010
Sports isn't scripted...
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satanlite
If ur neibor wtchs Fox Nws wtch ur neibor
07:03 AM on 05/20/2010
Keep telling yourself that anyways.