(no subject)

[apocalypsos]

You know, I love Lost. I do. But last night highlighted some of my biggest pet peeves about the show.

1. "This is my episode, and it's *still* all about Jack." -- That quote from cleolinda's recaps describes way too many episodes from this season. Jack is not bad in small doses, away from Kate and with a sense of humor. Of course, the problem is that that hardly ever happens. And I'm sick of so many of everybody else's problems drifting into Jack and his fucking daddy issues.

2. "That's Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Lay Onna Pile Of Origami the Third. But you can call me Kate." -- Let's say that Kate had never become a character on the show. And let's say that someone had come along and put her on the island and had her do every single thing she's done so far. We would hate that story. In fact, we wouldn't only hate that story, we would find out their address and go to their house specifically to smacks them upside the head.

3. "C ... C ... C ... C ..." -- Okay, all the mystery's been fun, but I'd like some answers now. No, seriously. I know it's the end of the season and we'll be getting something soon, but honestly ... where Ethan came from, where Alex went to, what Claire forgot, what the fuck that radio transmission came from. I'll take anything at this point.

4. "We're on a tropical paradise. Why do we have to leave, exactly?" -- They've been on this island a month and all they've done is build a raft (and a half) and occasionally play with a radio. Speaking as someone who reads up on waaaaay too many disasters, these people are definitely not trying hard enough to get home.

5. "Hi, I'm Claire, and this is my baby, Sam Joe Pete Mickey Vladimir Ping Whale Blubber Series of Clicks No Name." -- Okay, that's more a fandom thing, but I read enough C/C fanfiction to be incredibly tired of the authors having to make up a million, kajillion names for the kid. I just wish she'd named the little bugger last night. (In a related vein, she's not naming the kid Boone. Seriously. Please stop saying she has to just because he died. Because God knows, that wouldn't be confusing considering he's probably going to be back in flashbacks. And speaking as someone who has three Richies, two Eddies, two Johnnies, and three Jimmys in the family, naming kids after other people you're going to see or mention on a regular basis is annoying.)

6. "... and this is Walt, and this is Michael, and this is Jin, and over there is thirty extras." -- Go on, you can introduce some of them. We won't mind.

7. "We're being chased by a giant monster? Hey, I remember this one time, when the screen went hazy and we cut away to me and somebody else watching Jurassic Park ..." -- You know, sometimes I like the flashbacks, and sometimes I loathe the flashbacks. For example, when they seem to not have a damn thing in common with what's going on on the island other than they contain a castaway and he's maybe wearing the same outfit or something. I guess you could say this relates to the no-answers complaint.

So, anybody else feel the need to vent?

Comments

[prettyveela.livejournal.com]

I don't watch the show but I need to know, did that Boone guy die? How did he die?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

He did. He climbed into the wreckage of a plane last week that was hanging in a tree, and it fell from his weight to the ground below. Let's see ... it crushed his leg, collapsed a lung, and gave him internal injuries, so he was pretty much a lost cause. (But thankfully, it gave Jack and his fucking daddy issues a chance to shine for an hour. *eye roll*)

[valerie]

I'm gonna have to do a point-by-point agreement here.

#1? Big fat word, and this is from someone who likes Jack - though it's more 20% being liking the combination of over-the-top hero and fucked-up little boy, and 80% being Matthew Fox totally being sex on legs (YMMV, of course).

#2? Word again. But I'm a total Kate-hater.

#3? Hell yes. And tied to #7, as well... give us more than just a taste of backstories. Last night bugged me in particular - okay, so we get the point that Jack needed to learn to let go. But having him get over his fear of getting married seemed... unsatisfying. I figured the flashbacks would end up with his wife being sick and he'll have to let go that way or something.

#6 - again, word. My BF and I were actually discussing that last night.

But the big thing, and ties in to your points #3 and 7... resolve some of the damn questions asked before bringing up more. I mean, seriously, let's take a look at what's been raised but not resolved:

- We still don't know why Sayid was in Sydney (though I'm hoping the next Sayid-centric episode will answer that)
- Who's the man Kate killed in her past?
- How did Locke end up in a wheelchair?
- Where's Alex?
- What the hell was up with Ethan?
- What's with the hatch? (and this better be answered by the end of the season or I'll be pissed)

And probably about 15 more things that I can't even think of right now.

I mean, I still love the show and all, but it doesn't mean it can't bug :P

[phillyexpat.livejournal.com]

I like the show a lot, but the number of balls JJ is putting in the air is starting to become really tiring. Rather than making me curious, it's making me not care.

[prettyveela.livejournal.com]

*nods* The only reason I was curious was because I think Boone was on the cover of TV Guide this week and he was HOT(if that's the same guy).

I had a feeling that it wasn't Dom's character who died, cause my flist would have been overflowed with OMG NOES!!1111

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

No, that was Sawyer (Josh Holloway) on the cover. And yes, the island abounds with hotness. :-)

And the producers said before the show even began that Dom's chara wouldn't be killed due to his enormous fan-base.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Here's a few more:

-- Who hit Sayid over the head?
-- What is that plastic airplane of Kate's all about?
-- What are the voices in the jungle?
-- What's the monster?
-- What's so evil about Claire's son?
-- Now that we know Jack had a wife, what happened to her? (Because he wasn't wearing a wedding ring in his "All the Best Cowboys ..." flashbacks.)

Etc., etc. ...

[titti]

Except for the baby's name, I think the other points are somewhat related. After all, most of the flashbacks that made no sense (and were boring as hell) are about Jake. We can't be bother with the other characters because Jack and Kate are sooo good together, and they can solve all the problems of the world. *shivers*

I still don't understand why I should be sympathetic to a woman who must have committed a very serious federal offense, and by her own admission, robbed banks and killed people she loved. I'm starting to see the value of the death penalty where Kate is concerned.

[valerie]

I told you I forgot a lot. Thanks :)

But that's the whole thing. For every one question they answer, they bring up five more. I know they need to keep fodder going for future seasons, but that's just ridiculous.

And while we're on the subject of venting, let me add... the ridiculously frequent hiatuses. There's planning timing for sweeps and then there's being annoying.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Seriously. The writers need to answer something, for crying out loud. Hell, when Desperate Housewives is doing a better job resolving mysteries (and has vowed to wrap up most of its stuff by the end of the season), you know you're in trouble.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I still don't understand why I should be sympathetic to a woman who must have committed a very serious federal offense, and by her own admission, robbed banks and killed people she loved.

Exactly. Sawyer's done the same sort of stuff, but he also heard his mother being murdered and saw his father shoot himself in the head. Kate might have an excuse of that level, but I've had yet to hear it and because of it, I have absolutely no sympathy for her at this point.

[franticgoddess.livejournal.com]

What bothers me the most? I feel like they enjoy doing something, sticking a polar bear in there or creepy monsters or french people, and then forgetting about them. They hardly even discuss these things inbetween the time somebody gets squished by something, or Walt gets mauled by said bear. Wtf, man.

[prettyveela.livejournal.com]

Well I might start watching just for Sawyer, cause he was looking GOOD on that cover, lol

And the producers said before the show even began that Dom's chara wouldn't be killed due to his enormous fan-base.

What? Dang they could have teased it a little, pushovers!

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, God, the hiatuses. *groans* I think part of the reason I love TAR so much is that we don't get these annoying hiatuses. All we get are big chunks of Race, pretty much all at once.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I hear you, man. All I can think of is how many times I've read about these situations in real life and thinking, "What the fuck is up with this place? In reality, five different people would be working on some way to repel polar bears, discussing where they might be hiding, trying to come up with some way to hunt them for food, patrolling the edges of camp to keep them away, working on ways to skin any polar bears they might catch for the furs, etc." I don't why they all seem surprised that Claire came back with amnesia, considering how many of them have selective amnesia most of the time.

[wal-lace.livejournal.com]

So, for those of us in Not-America, what exactly is the basic plot to [i]Lost[/i]? Where, when, how many people and why?

Poor Maligned DH

[phillyexpat.livejournal.com]

You know, DH is a damn good show, and, in my opinion, stronger from a critical standpoint than Lost. Yrs, DH is comedic and it's subject matter seems shallow on the surface, but the writing, the acting, and the direction come together to make it work on many levels. It's getting better and better.

Lost on the other hand, is on a downward spiral. It started off the season incredibly and recently has really fallen apart. It better have a bang up season finale, or it's going to have a lot of trouble. At this point, I could give a rat's ass about what's in the box, where they are, etc. I'm sticking with it because I think the acting is good.

It's an interesting discussion I have with people-I would rather see a simple conceit execute well than a complex one fall flat on its face.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

A plane crashes on a mysterious Pacific island, and the survivors (of which there are now 45, if I'm remembering correctly) have to work together to stay alive. Of course, it doesn't help that there's a giant monster in the jungle, polar bears occasionally coming out of the woodwork, a crazy French lady who was already there off on her own, and weird voices in the woods. It's really weird, decently written, and well-acted, but ... well, see above. They keep tossing out new mysteries and not giving the audience answers to a damn one, which is annoying.

Also, every episode features flashbacks to a main character's past. Sometimes, they're wickedly awesome (the one where they flashed back to John Locke's life and revealed at the end that the rugged outdoorsman used to be in a wheelchair before he got to the island was the best), and sometimes, they're pointless (so far, Kate's and Jack's have been consistently lamer than the others).

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

Hmm... The bare-bones plot is that a flight from Sydney to LA goes hideously off-course when their radio stops working properly, then encounters turbulence bad enough to tear the plane apart at which point it crashed on an island. As far as we know, only 47 people survived, 14 of whom we focus on. Weird shit starts happening. I really can't go into much more detail without massive explanation, but check out cleolinda's recaps here

Re: Poor Maligned DH

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I adore Desperate Housewives. It's soapy and cheesy and funny and brilliant. For coming up with the Van De Kamp family alone, I think I love the writers.

Not only that, but with a lot of their secrets, they really are answering their mysteries as they give the audience new ones. And even when they seem to not mention a plot point anymore, the effects still show up -- for example, Rex still feeling unwell because George is screwing with his heart medication.

And the thing about solving this stuff by the end of the season ... from what I've heard, by the end of the season, we're supposed to know where Dana is, what's up with Mike, and what Mary Alice was being blackmailed about. When have we ever gotten that sort of guarantee from the Lost writers?

[valerie]

*nods* Precisely. Worst we had to deal with regarding TAR was the uber-leg last season with the clip show thrown in the middle of it.

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

I think that 1 & 2 are tied together by the fact that Jack and Kate are the same person. No, really! From what I understand, Jack was supposed to die in the premiere when Critter attacked the pilot, but tested as OMG2CYUTE!! to kill off, so TPTB had to scramble and rewrite him. Kate was supposed to be the hero character, so they split off a lot of her actions/motivations and slapped them onto Jack.

Again, I remember reading somewhere (TV Guide?) that the Jack/Kate flashbacks comprise about a third of all the episodes. UN. NECESSARY.

I think that we're going to see at least some of the mysteries get resolved in the next 2 weeks, but I agree that the endless series of unanswered questions, while entertaining, is starting to grate.

4 & 6: If they bothered to ID any of the extras, we might find out that there are a ton of rescue attempts/Swiss Family Robinson/island explorations going on, but TPTB are too busy focusing on OMGMysteryIsland!! Also, the extras may not want to be noticed; look what happened to Scott & Joanna.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Yup. And this season they didn't even take up a whole week with the clip show. :)

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

The only way I can explain the hiatuses (and there seems to be some support for this in RL) is that TPTB weren't expecting Lost to be such a big and immediate hit, and hadn't ordered enough episodes, so everyone had to fly back to Hawaii and make more. Even if we assume that the scripts were already written, it takes time to film & edit an episode. But yes, annoying.

[drewbeartx.livejournal.com]

Nope, they just aired it opposite Lost in the futile hope that it would draw viewers away. Silly producers!