Advice to TV Execs Looking For the Next Lost: Don't Bother
Enough has been written about Lost to fill the completely underwhelming Temple fifty times over -- seriously, of all the disappointing reveals on the show, that might be the biggest; it should have looked awesome and not like an extra set from Legend of the Seeker. Still, from the production values, to the use of the Internet to form a community, to the entire storyline, Lost was literally like nothing television had ever seen before. This is despite the fact that it cribs from almost every geek pop culture landmark from the last 35 years. And now that Lost is ending -- in less than 12 hours! -- it seems fitting that it's leaving the world with one more question: Where will the next Lost come from?
Well, the short answer to that question is "nowhere." The problem with once-in-a-generation television events is that they're once-in-a-generation television events. Lost broke the mold on Lost-like shows. Of course, that hasn't stopped networks from trying to capture lightning in a bottle a second time -- hey, Invasion, Threshold, FlashForward and V -- but obviously their efforts havn't worked.
And that's not surprising: There isn't one thing that helped make Lost into Lost, so it's impossible to recreate. You can argue that the series worked because the initial characters were so sharply drawn, but then you'd be discounting the contribution of the actors. You can say the performances were so vivid -- with few exceptions, this has been one of the better acted series to air on television in the last decade -- but then you'd be discounting the mystery. You can say the mystery kept people invested, but then you'd be discounting the well-developed human emotions. In typical Lost fashion, one answer leads to eight other lingering strands and queries. And just as long as C.J. Cregg isn't involved, that's fine with me.
Unfortunately for television executives, that isn't fine for them. They need to find another Lost just like Jacob needed to find another, well, Jacob. Still, once the series flashes that final L O S T logo tonight, it's over. And it will be until a network stumbles onto the next zeitgeist capturing show. Glee, this could be your moment. Just don't turn Sue Sylvester into a smoke monster.
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Comments
The secret in finding the next show that has the impact of LOST is not to try and find it.
It may take a few years but something (and not a bunch of lip synching 20 something broadway divas pretending to be high school students) will catch on, become a massive pop culture phenomenon and that will be that. Chances are though, it won't be a mystery/drama with sci-fi overtones.
It's easy to figure out what the next Lost is: The show that's simply called "Found".
I think the problem with all the knockoff shows was that they were too different from Lost. Most were about aliens, not islands. But did anybody think of doing a show about an island on an alien planet? Oh, wait, nevermind. Someone just told me that's actually the big reveal in the finale...
Actually the problem is that the copiers had no idea what they were copying. Lost is a show about people more than anything else. Broken people in search of a world where they fit, where they could start over. And funny thing, they didn't even know it. They thought they were doing a-okay. total act of good old Greek Hubris. the mystery, the sci-fi was just window dressing
Plus Lost was a show that showed rather than telling us the background we needed to know. and it played with allusions etc from all cultures and people from around the world (various ages and appearance types as well). plus they were willing to do what many shows don't and kill folks, hated ones AND loved ones.
but the copiers. they saw freaky mystery island a bunch of people. attractive people at that. and nifty time tricks and that's what they tried to play with.
funny enough the closest thing to 'the next lost' is probably Fringe, another JJ Abrams invention. and it is the next lost mostly because that's just JJ's style of storytelling, not that he was actively trying make a copy
and I 100% agree that no one should be trying to copy it. just like folks need to lay off the medical dramas and stop trying to make everything the next ER. and stop with the vamp tales and stop trying to make the next Twilight (but on tv even). Not until you really understand the heart of the stories and what you should be copying. cause funny enough, both of those are really a lot about the people as well (particularly ER)
I LIKE THE TITLE. VERY QUICK THINKING THERE, WINCHESTER....TILL WE MEET ON "FOUND" TAKE CARE, CAPT. FRANK LAPIDUS
When the next LOST shows up, they'll be millions of fans eagarly waiting to proclaim it such. Loooong before it reveals itself to be a worthy sucessor.
While I still have a couple questions that I think still need to be answered, and I don't know if I'm ecstatic that the last part of the show brushed aside the island story for the "afterlife," I will say the ending was one of the best the producers could have made to tie together so many people and to please fans - it was emotional and made everyone ask so many questions, it summed up the series very well. http://www.thesmogger.com/2010/05/24/and-in-the-end/
Hey 🙂
What's with the Legend of the Seeker put down?
Actually, Legend of the Seeker's finale kicked ASS. I like both shows but I think I prefered Seeker's finale over Lost. All Losties should give it a try.
http://www.saveourseeker.com
Lost wasn't really once in a generation. It was a glorified soap opera, the same type of continuing storyline, designed to try to bring back viewers week after week. They just managed to do it weirder than most soaps.
Gregoria Mabus
I'm really to be finally posting online after all these years. There really is no mystique (sp) about it, is there? I just dropped by your blog and had to write. I'm a recent college grad, journalism major if you must know, and I absolutely love the art of photography. I've got my site up but it's nothing to boast about yet. None of my stuff's been posted. Soon as I figure out how to do that, I'll spend the day posting my best pictures. anyhow just thought I'd drop a line. I hope to return with more substantial stuff, stuff you can actually use. SPG