REGINAROADIE'S BLOG
My small beef with LOST
Tuesday, November 1, 2005 8:31 PM
Today, I read another article on LOST and its expanding mythology. And I was thinking about LOST and other shows similar to it, and it really got me thinking about something.I like LOST. I enjoy watching it on a weekly basis and the mysterys that it slowly uncovers and stuff like that. But I don't think it's "THE GREATEST TV SHOW EVER CREATED" like so many people claim it is. I am always dubious about any "greatest" claims for a show that's less than a few years old. And I think there's one thing that LOST severely lacks in that, in my mind anyways, keeps it from attaining such great heights.
Humor.
There is very little humor in this show. Occassionally it come along, but in a highly understated way. Most of the time, it's all stern um drag, tortured souls, flashbacks and a glacial like pace. Now, I love that the show takes it's time in unraveling everything about the island and the characters. But I would like it more if Hugo, who was always intended to be comic relief, was less "I'm cursed because of the #'s" and more "Let's play golf, dude." The ep where they played golf in that open stretch of land was such a welcome relief to the metaphysical "hark, there is evil afoot." goings on with the show. So it's this humorless take on the proceedings that, IMHO, hinder the show rather than make it fly.
In comparison, FIREFLY is ripe in humor. Joss Whedon understands how crucial humor is to something this big in scale, silly in concept and serious in delivery. There are too many moments in FIREFLY that really show off a sense of humor about the whole thing, which keeps the show from getting depressing with the River angle. But my fave show that I love to compare LOST to is 24. 24 was busting tv conventions long before LOST. And I'd prefer a 24 marathon as opposed to a LOST marathon because of pacing and timing. LOST has loads of time to figure everything out. But in 24, time is a luxury no one has, so the action and the plots are constantly moving without getting bogged down in navel gazing, which is something LOST continually runs the risk of happening.
Does anyone agree with me in that LOST isn't all that's cracked up to be, mainly because of a lack of humor?
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