Editorial
Front Page - Friday, May 28, 2010
View from the Cheap Seats
I’m LOST
William O. “Bill” James, Jr.
Over the last three or four seasons, my family has been a fan of the show LOST. That is to say that Patti has been a fan; and many a night, I have been forced to watch the show in my room or go elsewhere while Patti watched it. I have to say I never really understood the show. Before the last season started, I watched a two hour recap to get me caught up so I could start watching in earnest. After about fifteen minutes, Patti threw me out of the room. I guess I was asking way too many questions.
Apparently, LOST is supposed to be a thinking man’s show. There are all kinds of references to theories of physics and parallel worlds with which those better educated than I am familiar. I just did not get it. The finale was on last Sunday. I watched some of it and went to sleep. Over the last season, I learned to enjoy the show in bits and pieces by not worrying about understanding what is going on and why. This strategy worked well for me. Usually I just fell asleep.
The one thing I did during the last season was to ask Patti regularly if the show had explained any of the secrets. As the season grew closer and closer to the end, I began to wonder if any questions would be answered. Even though I did not care about the show, I began to worry that the show was going to be forced to end in some bizzaro fashion that would leave nothing but more questions. From what I saw of the ending, I was correct. That is, at least as far as I am concerned.
In fairness, as is the norm, I slept through much of the finale. The next day, I did watch the last fifteen minutes. Unbelievable. I found no comfort or real explanation in the end. I went into a bit of a tantrum complaining to Patti about the ending and trying to get her to agree. I could not get her to bite. While she had some trouble explaining exactly what it all meant, she seemed satisfied.
I went to my Facebook friends as I was sure that they would agree with my position. What I found was that the people that really watched the show seemed surprisingly satisfied with the way the show ended. This only caused me more confusion and a inner regret that I did not invest the time to watch and understand. Even as I say that, I am not sure that even the fans understand what it all meant; but they all seem content. Ultimately, I guess you have to call the show a success. Success or not, my lack of understanding makes me feel a little unsettled.
What the ending of LOST means to me is more room on my bedroom DVR for Seinfeld reruns along with classic teen movies from the 80’s. That is television I can really understand. Patti thinks most of it is stupid, but that is just the bane of the existence of smart people. They just don’t understand us simple folk.
There is nothing wrong with expanding your mind and watching shows that challenge you. The time for that is when the weather is bad and there is nothing else to do. It is now summer time and time to turn the television off and enjoy the outside. That is true for everyone, especially for of simple folks in the CHEAP SEATS!
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