"If you think Scripture is telling you what you want to hear, take a long, hard second look."
- The Ancient Mariner
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
LOST started on September 22, 2004. I was there. Watched the first episode. The commercials alone had convinced me it was something special.
I just checked the thinkling archives to see if I tried to tell you people it was awesome. Turns out, I did. Here's what I wrote back on October 27, 2004. (A mere 4 episodes having been aired.) Read on in shock and wonder to see how right I was.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
"Lost" Is A Great Show
Posted by Philip @ 8:13 am CDT | Edit | Delete | Send a Trackback
Filed under: General
Have you seen Lost on ABC? It's fantastic. It's about 48 people stranded on an island. I've always enjoyed stories about surviving a la Robinson Crusoe. This show is more realistic than Survivor ever will be. One of the things I like about it is that it's different than anything else on television. It's not yet another law/cop/medical/family drama. Each episode usually emphasizes a different character. There are flashbacks that reveal the backstory, and they are usually quite surprising. There are mysteries to be solved, about the island, about the people, about what happened. The show is well-written, and well-acted. The characters are complex, and in a way the show is kind of genre breaking.
What's great about the characters are that they are different from other shows. They don't fit into any neat stereotypes. For example,they have a long-haired overweight guy in his 20's, named "Hurley" that is just plain cool. The dude is funny, likeable and ...real. I watch him and think, he could be a friend of mine. There just aren't many shows that give realistic people good roles.
This is a show that I enjoy watching so much that it frustrates me when it's over. You feel like you are getting to know the characters and you actually enjoy spending the time with them, even though they are stranded on a deserted island and might die.
Another cool aspect of the show are the ethical dilemmas:
-What do you do when you have hundreds of bodies? Do you leave them for the wild animals? Do you bury them yourselves? Is it OK to burn them?
-Is it OK to go through dead people's luggage or take their shoes?
-If you discover that the liklihood of being rescued is very slim do you tell the others? Or let them keep hoping?
-If you are rescuing someone from drowning, and then see a second person what do you do? Do you leave one intending to go back for them?
-If someone is going to die in a few hours is it OK to speed up the process?
-If one of you is an escaped convict, do you tell the others?
And they go on and on and on... I love watching the show and asking myself, "What would I do in the same situation?"
It's awesome. If you haven't watched it yet, you should start. It's well worth it. I concur with what Jared said in another post. It's the best thing on television right now. It's on tonight. Record it or watch it. Get in now, while it's still getting started. I have a feeling it's going to be a great ride.
(Oh, and I might also be prescient. Notice I wrote that a mere two days after the first episode aired.)
So the next time I tell you to watch a show, a movie or read a particular book, you should listen to me. I'm obviously the best recommend-er in the world.
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Comments on "LOST: You People Should Really Listen To Me":
2. Shrode
- 05/19/2010 2:06 pm CDT
Hollins,
Wow, I didn't think anyone would actually take me seriously. Notice that one of the categories above is humility. 
But anyway, I think in order to keep my street cred, I need to keep my rec's to a minimum, meaning the highest quality stuff so here goes (for right now)
Listen to: All 7 Harry Potter books on audio. You can get them from your local library. Really quality stuff. Listening to them is better than the movies or reading them. This is the BEST way to experience these excellent novels. (And they are EXCELLENT.)
Watch: Battlestar Galactica (the recent reimagined version - all 4 seasons). You can put them in a Netflix or blockbuster.com queue. One of the best shows on TV ever, right up there with LOST. Really.
Read:
Non-fiction: "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller
and/or "Your Jesus Is Too Safe" by Jared Wilson (Read these, and don't worry about the noise you hear. It's just your paradigm shifting.)
Fiction: The Harry Potter books if you can't do the audio. (Audio is better, but these are great books, and those of you who haven't read them are missing out.)
and/or The Nick Barrett Trilogy by Sigmund Brouwer. (Out of the Shadows, Crown of Thorns, The Lies of Saints) Don't let the fact that they are from a "Christian" writer, or that the publisher tried to market them as a mystery series stop you. These are mysteries yes, but quality character-driven Christian novels, many steps above the standard fare of any genre.
Now aren't you glad you asked? ;-)
And hey Hollins, if you actually do take me up on any of my rec's, will you let me know what you thought? I wanna see how I do. ;-)
3. Hollins
- 05/19/2010 8:09 pm CDT
I have read the Harry Potter books and really enjoyed them in spite of some Christians complaining about the witchcraft, etc.
I have "The Prodigal God" on audio and have just started listening to it in the car on the way to work. A former pastor and really good friend recommended this to me as well.
Generally, I prefer reading books much more than listening to them. Sometimes I have started listening to an audio book and then gone to the library to get the "real" book.
I will definitely look into the Nick Barrett Trilogy, and start watching BattleStar Galatica.
4. Shrode
- 05/19/2010 8:56 pm CDT
Hollins,
You are my new favorite commenter. ;-)
You honor me more than I deserve, seriously. Thank you for taking my recommendations.
Let me know what you think of "The Prodigal God".
5. GinH
- 05/19/2010 9:30 pm CDT
What I really want to know is what current show should replace Lost? I will put Battlestar in my netflix queue because you're like the 50th person to say that, but what about the hole in my life with Lost gone? I will wear black and pretend to see dead people all week to mourn Sunday.
But the Nick Barrett trilogy will only come if you tell me it's totally worth paying full price on Kindle for because those pesky Christian authors are rarely the cheap books on Kindle.
I read Brouwer's book the Last Disciple and thought it was ok, so have you read that and is the trilogy better?
I'm always looking for recommendations of good stuff! So lots of people will take you serious, I suspect.
Well, I suppose LOTS is subjective . . .
6. Shrode
- 05/20/2010 9:58 am CDT
GinH,
In my not at all humble opinion, there isn't a current show to replace LOST. (V and Flash Forward obviously both wanted that honor, but it ain't gonna happen.)
Battlestar is the only drama that's comparable in quality in my opinion.
If you only thought the Last Disciple was OK, I'm not sure what to say... The Nick Barrett trilogy is VERY different than that book though. It's slightly slower in pacing, very character driven. Like slowly peeling back the layers of an onion. I thought they were excellent. They are not action-adventure. They are about story, and a lot of it has to do with digging up the past. So Nick talks to people, and each time he has another conversation with someone, more questions are answered, and more questions come up. (Kind of like LOST actually.) But these mysteries are very personal. So while he is investigating a mystery, he's also investigating himself, if that makes sense.
I'm reluctant to recommend something you might only think is OK, but I thought they were excellent FWIW.
If want a thrill-ride type book, read "Blood Ties" by Sigmund Brouwer, but don't read it past midnight in the dark. It's creepy, but excellent. (About a serial killer.)j
I think you and Hollins counts as LOTS the way I do math.
7. Michele
- 05/20/2010 12:09 pm CDT
You caught me at a vulnerable time, what with mourning over lost LOST and all--so I ordered the Brouwer book, the first in the trilogy.
I really, really liked "Prodigal God" by Keller, (although I thought he took a squishy stance on Hell and Creation). But, I didn't like the Potter books at all. ( I admit, I only almost finished the first one. I just didn't think the writing style compelling enough to have my conscience constantly disturbed by all the sorcery. Sorry.)
I liked this post--it's funny to me when folks un-abashadly say "I told you so!". It's awesome when Paul the Apostle does it in Acts, during the storm at sea. So real.
8. GinH
- 05/20/2010 12:17 pm CDT
Oh, when I said I thought the Last Disciple was ok what I meant was I thought it was good. First off, I prefer the theology in the Last Disciple and I liked the story and characters. It's been several years since I read it so I didn't want to say I loved it but I didn't mean to say it was just so-so either. I'm a fairly picky reader because I'm also a writer so I'm usually very tough on Christian fiction. All that to say, I liked it enough to read something else. I love character driven fiction so it sounds like I will download it immediately :)
I will also read Blood Ties because I LOVE creepy.
Michele - if I were you I might give Harry another try!!
9. Michele
- 05/20/2010 12:20 pm CDT
GinH--at this point I couldn't. I've made a big, fat deal of NOT reading them to my family. I'm really smug and superior about it, and it would be too humbling.
Also--a TV show you might enjoy is Monk. It's not supernatural, but does have a mystery you follow through the seasons. It's very funny, fairly clean and has wonderful characters.
10. Shrode
- 05/20/2010 2:54 pm CDT
Michele, that's the same reason Jared and Bill can't read them now. It would totally destroy their rep. ;-)
Oh, book 1 is merely good. book 2 is OK too.(but maybe the weakest of the series.) They elevate to excellence in Books 3 and 4.
14. Shrode
- 05/22/2010 7:53 am CDT
GinH, YES!!!!!!
You MUST watch the mini-series first. Because that's the intro to the series and everything that's going on. They did the miniseries first, before it became a regular show.
Really the miniseries serves as the extended Pilot.
I actually thought of that yesterday. I thought, "Phil, you forgot to tell her to get the miniseries first." while I was driving. Sorry.
Hey everyone, you have to watch the miniseries first!
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So what other tv shows or movies should I watch and what books should I be reading?