LOST - what is its legacy?

[SeanM]

There'll probably never be another show with that same kind of impact ever again.

Unlike other shows which took several seasons to grow from word of mouth, Lost was a juggernaut from the very first episode with 19 million viewers. And a lot of things started taking off right around the same time - HDTV's and DVR's, Wiki's, Podcasts, and Social Media - all of which catapulted the show to new heights. It was unlike anything else on TV at the time.

But then Lost stumbled in the final stretch, those last two seasons kind of soured me on the whole thing. I've never rewatched it and haven't recommended it to anyone.

 

[digit_zero]

I unabashedly love the entire show, but if we are talking legacy, it is *the* network show that proved and popularized serialized story telling on the big networks. You could make an argument for the Buffyverse, but Lost really is the show that generated clone on clone on clone immediately after its run.

 

[MrConbon210]

The final episode was the best finale of any tv show and I'll fight whoever thinks differently.

No they were not dead the whole time.

 

[Erigu]

Let's try this with another logic exercise. I hate my ex-girlfriend because she cheated on me, but the sex before that was still amazing. Her cheating on me doesn't retroactively change the quality of the sex, I still enjoyed it.

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The problem isn't just the last few episodes/seasons. The problem is that the entire show was based on a lie. They didn't know where they were going, they didn't care that they didn't know where they were going, but they sure tried to convince their audience ortherwise in interviews and such. (Oh, and then, the ending sucked, too. Somewhat unsurprisingly.)
So let's revise your example: turns out your ex-girlfriend never loved you, she was just manipulating you and she was cheating on you from day one. What kind of relationship was that?

 

[Arc]

The problem isn't just the last few episodes/seasons. The problem is that the entire show was based on a lie. They didn't know where they were going, they didn't care that they didn't know where they were going, but they sure tried to convince their audience ortherwise in interviews and such.
So let's revise your example: turns out your ex-girlfriend never loved you, she was just manipulating you and she was cheating on you from day one. What kind of relationship was that?

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A shitty relationship. But the sex was still great in the moment, you can't change that.

 

[UltraMagnus]

There'll probably never be another show with that same kind of impact ever again.

Unlike other shows which took several seasons to grow from word of mouth, Lost was a juggernaut from the very first episode with 19 million viewers. And a lot of things started taking off right around the same time - HDTV's and DVR's, Wiki's, Podcasts, and Social Media - all of which catapulted the show to new heights. It was unlike anything else on TV at the time.

But then Lost stumbled in the final stretch, those last two seasons kind of soured me on the whole thing. I've never rewatched it and haven't recommended it to anyone.

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It's actually kind of funny to look at it, but Desperate Housewives actually had similar/better ratings (30 million for the season 1 finale, wowza) and started right around the same time (fall 2004). ABC really hit the jack pot in fall 2004.

 

[Masterz1337]

A show with an amazing start that was ultimately a house of cards that came tumbling down and ruined all the good seasons that preceded it. S1, 2 and 4 are so good, and that season 3 finale is one of the best ones I've seen.

luckily, the show got a spiritual reboot in the form of The 100 even though that had a somewhat rocky last season.

 

[dabig2]

It's actually kind of funny to look at it, but Desperate Housewives actually had similar/better ratings (30 million for the season 1 finale, wowza) and started right around the same time (fall 2004). ABC really hit the jack pot in fall 2004.

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Grey's Anatomy the very next year too.

But there was also Alias that kinda laid the stage on that network. Another JJ Abrams produced show. Another show with a whatever ending, but like Lost, the journey and hype helps cover up for a lot of the dumb shit.
And it's another serialized sci-fi/fantasy show with a kinda ensemble? Or at least a cast that most had some individual fanbases for

Jennifer Garner around her peak career, and I mean it even had Quentin Tarantino as a recurring guy for a minute. And Bradley Cooper I guess.

 

[jdawg]

I think some writers from the early season essentially said what the internet guessed in the first season, that they'rein purgatory.

Makes sense as is biggest influence The Prisoner about a man trapped on a mysterious inescapable island had the same twist.

when the final season came around they tried to start answering it and bringing it all together. They just kept abandoning everything they tried. It became an impossible task so they were left with going to the only answer they had. It was extremely unsatisfying and didn't explain so much.

still a great show imo. Great characters and the ride was amazing while it lasted. Also first show that had to reckon with a million internet detectives. Pre internet they probably would've stuck to the purgatory idea from the beginning, instead all these random half baked ideas that amounted to nothing.

 

[DIE BART DIE]

It couldn't live up to the promise of the final episode of Season 3. Everything after that point from a story perspective was a huge let down, despite individually great episodes here and there. Still, at the time, it was must watch TV and we would all get together and watch it in our university dorm rooms every week.

Really the first show that had people scouring wikis for clues and theories too.

 

[ZeoVGM]

The Smoke Monster has arrived in the thread.

 

[KomandaHeck]

 

[BrickArts295]

Those first 3 seasons are its legacy. One of the fastest binge watching I've done.

 

[yongeandcollege]

I've been re-watching it the past two months and I (still) really like the show.

 

[Helmholtz]

I was thoroughly entertained throughout the whole thing. I think it was one of, if not the first television shows that had me hooked and binging the dvds. The ending wasn't great, but it wasn't GoT levels of bad. I might consider giving it a rewatch some day when I've forgotten most of it.

 

[SigmasonicX]

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lol, forgot about that meme
Jack faces too

 

[Deleted member 45614]

Easily my favourite scripted tv show of all time, it's highs are just so good. Can't wait to rewatch it once Disney launches Star here next year.

In terms of legacy it led to a lot of copycats for its flashbacks and mystery elements, but the things that stuck were the increase in what you could expect budget wise from a tv show and ongoing storytelling over multiple seasons being a more common thing.

 

[master15]

I absolutely fell in love with first few seasons but the final two seasons in particular left such a bad taste in my mouth it's hard for me to revisit or watch the show again knowing how it ends.

 

[Gungriffon]

Was pretty excited when it started, but I bounced off it before the first season ended. Every episode just introduced more complications with even answering the previous ones. It was clear even then there were not going to be any answers.

 

[Qrusher14242]

Was so into this show when it aired. I remember reading so many theories and explanations for the mysteries of the island. I loved the Dharma stuff. But the show completely missed its landing. So many mysteries either: forgotten about/not explained/unsatisfactory conclusions. It really felt like they just kept piling on mysteries and then had no way to put it all together. I remember the ending when people said the show was all about the characters instead lol. The final season is just so disappointing, i could never watch it again.

It's a shame, the first 4 seasons were great (well, maybe not the beginning of S3). The S3 finale was just insane. Even S5 was interesting i would give it that.

 

[DrEvil]

I loved lost, start to finish. Final season was not as bad as everyone tried to make it seem.

Giacchino's score is the best work of television music without rival. I still listen to it regularly.

I think it was the first real example of "this isn't what i had built up in my mind so therefore i hate it" - basically the star wars problem.

LOST also had an incredible following on GAF. Every episode had a dedicated 20+ page thread.

The reactions to episodes like "Through the Looking Glass" and "The Constant" were better than any E3 thread ever.

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Those threads were amazing. The amount of theory crafting and insane ideas flying around were some of my best memories on gaf lol.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

It was that show everyone at school was talking about while I was watching Stargate SG1 instead.

 

[hiredhand]

I love both Lost and BSG, but I have to disagree. It was the shows of HBO that cemented serialized television as the main form of storytelling. The Sopranos were 5 years earlier than Lost, and just as big if not even bigger. Also The Wire, Deadwood, OZ, and Six Feet Under during those early 2000's also deserve credit. Not saying that Lost doesn't deserve credit (especially at a network level), the main credit needs to go HBO and especially The Sopranos.

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This. For a second I thought I had my timeline completely mixed up and had to google when did The Sopranos, The Wire and Oz actually start.

Also BSG was really niche compared to Lost or The Sopranos at least here in Finland. I didn't see the last two season until years later on blu-ray because the network it was on stopped showing it after season 2.

 

[Tater]

The water cooler moments that LOST generated were amazing, far better than anything before or after it. Almost every week, you'd run into your coworkers the next day and be like "Did you see it? Holy shit, what was that!?!"

I got married around the time of the last season, we were in Hawaii for our honeymoon, and went on a tour of the LOST filming locations while we were there. It was pretty neat, actually - we even stumbled onto some of the wildness camps in use for the final season. Seeing the actual beach camp in person was pretty neat, and the Others' camp was actually a YMCA camp not far from that crazy long dock used for the submarine.

But its real legacy:

Spoiler

Teaching us all about life in quarantine, and what to do when someone stops by who isn't wearing a mask:

 

[rude]

Being the necessary stepping stone towards making The Leftovers and Watchmen, its much better successors.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

There'll probably never be another show with that same kind of impact ever again.

Unlike other shows which took several seasons to grow from word of mouth, Lost was a juggernaut from the very first episode with 19 million viewers. And a lot of things started taking off right around the same time - HDTV's and DVR's, Wiki's, Podcasts, and Social Media - all of which catapulted the show to new heights. It was unlike anything else on TV at the time.

But then Lost stumbled in the final stretch, those last two seasons kind of soured me on the whole thing. I've never rewatched it and haven't recommended it to anyone.

Click to shrink...

This is all so true with regards to the zeitgeist. It really landed at the perfect time

 

[UraMallas]

This is all so true with regards to the zeitgeist. It really landed at the perfect time

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Yeah, I keep hoping, in vain, that there will be another 'lightning in a bottle' TV event like LOST was but it just seems that it can't happen now. Which is a real shame. LOST's initial run was wholly unique in TV history and I'm sad I'll probably never get that high again.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Yeah, I keep hoping, in vain, that there will be another 'lightning in a bottle' TV event like LOST was but it just seems that it can't happen now. Which is a real shame. LOST's initial run was wholly unique in TV history and I'm sad I'll probably never get that high again.

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Those early GoT seasons were probably the closest from what I can recall but it's just kind of different now I feel

 

[nachum00]

I liked the first season but thought it got progressively worse with every season.

 

[UraMallas]

Those early GoT seasons were probably the closest from what I can recall but it's just kind of different now I feel

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Yeah, I feel like the closest we got was The Red Wedding. Everybody was talking about it. But, there wasn't really the mystery aspect that had people theory-crafting and talking about what they think is gonna happen. That might be down to the fact that there were book readers that already knew a lot of the story beats for a large portion of the show so that never really took off. If something got to the heights GoT did and also was completely new, it might have a shot.

Who knows. I think I'm just grasping at straws.

 

[RiOrius]

Fucking hacks, everyone who worked on those final seasons.

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I don't think it's fair to lay all the blame on the people in charge of the ending. The ending is the hardest part. The people who started got to make a big mess, do whatever they wanted, and the guys at the end were in charge of cleaning it all up and putting a big bow on it.

If the people who started the show had had a plan going into it, and had the discipline to stick to the plan rather than chase every new idea that flitted past their kittenlike attention span in the intervening years, the ending would've written itself.

Note that I know nothing about the production of the show, I have no idea to what extent writers entered/left the project, just saying: the dude to blame is whoever wrote "and then a polar bear appeared" in the script without having a good explanation for it. I also never finished the show, so I don't even know if the polar bear resolution was satisfying or not, but I'm guessing... not.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I don't think it's fair to lay all the blame on the people in charge of the ending. The ending is the hardest part. The people who started got to make a big mess, do whatever they wanted, and the guys at the end were in charge of cleaning it all up and putting a big bow on it.

If the people who started the show had had a plan going into it, and had the discipline to stick to the plan rather than chase every new idea that flitted past their kittenlike attention span in the intervening years, the ending would've written itself.

Note that I know nothing about the production of the show, I have no idea to what extent writers entered/left the project, just saying: the dude to blame is whoever wrote "and then a polar bear appeared" in the script without having a good explanation for it. I also never finished the show, so I don't even know if the polar bear resolution was satisfying or not, but I'm guessing... not.

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The polar bears were explained, it was part of experiments

But i think this falls into a larger problem of people with television (and movies). In the context of a show like Lost, not every detail needs to be spelled out and explained. One, there is appeal in mystery of things and creating a sense of wonder to it. And second, no matter what it's never going to satisfy people. Drip feeding little details hear and there to help create some aspect of answers is totally fine, but never once in my re-watches of Lost did I go "WTF I wish this got explained".

 

[Erigu]

no matter what it's never going to satisfy people.

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Good mysteries with satisfying resolutions are not unicorns. They exist.

 

[elLOaSTy]

LOST rules and a lot of people who hate the ending still dont even understand it

 

[Musouka]

Well, yeah, I enjoyed the 5 seasons of the series.

Spoiler: No

Too bad they were all stupid and blew themselves up in the series finale.

I still immensely enjoyed the personal stories especially that of Desmond and Penny.

I've heard The Leftovers has great stories. Might watch it over the new year holidays.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Disappointing final season but still the greatest tv experience of all time, there will never be anything like it again.

 

[dodo]

There'll probably never be another show with that same kind of impact ever again.

Unlike other shows which took several seasons to grow from word of mouth, Lost was a juggernaut from the very first episode with 19 million viewers. And a lot of things started taking off right around the same time - HDTV's and DVR's, Wiki's, Podcasts, and Social Media - all of which catapulted the show to new heights. It was unlike anything else on TV at the time.

But then Lost stumbled in the final stretch, those last two seasons kind of soured me on the whole thing. I've never rewatched it and haven't recommended it to anyone.

Click to shrink...

the experience of lost was so cool and something i miss, even though i also don't like the ending. i didn't even watch from the beginning but i remember being fascinated and wowed just reading and listening to other people talking about it. the mid 00s was the pinnacle of the water cooler show experience: the internet made it easier to talk and theorize about the show with countless people, and that was special. now that entire seasons get dropped at once most of the time, some of that magic is lost. participation in mysteries is half the fun, after all.

 

[Xater]

It definitely showed that you shouldn't make shit up as you go with a mystery show.

 

[PS9]

Locke smiling with orange peel in mouth

 

[Mukrab]

I loved this show when it came out. I watched it recently with my gf hoping to have some fun woth the earlier season but even those arent that great now? Thats how i felt watching it in 2020

 

[Dreams-Visions]

It certainly spawned a great number of shows using a similar mystery formula to deliver its story and keep engagement high.

 

[Previously on Lost]

 

[JLP101]

Has some absolutely amazing episodes that blew me away. Too bad S5 and S6 were garbage.

 

[m_shortpants]

Quite the bump, I know, but I just finished watching Lost.

I originally watched season 1 and 2 on netflix probably 8-10 years ago, right before it was removed from Netflix's library. I got upset that it was removed and ended up reading the ending. I was quite put off by what I read, and vowed to never waste my time to watch the series ever.

Well, fast forward to 2021, my wife asks me if Lost is good. I told her that the first season is incredible, with nothing quite like it. I tell her I don't know if I can put myself through a 6 season TV show, despite not really remembering what the ending was.

I'm quite glad that she convinced me to watch it with her, because wow, what a show. Obviously the last season leaves a bit to be desired (outside the finale), but overall, I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. The characters are all captivating and endearing, with interesting back stories and motivations.

The show tripped over itself a bit introducing more and more mysteries into the mix, and the Jacob/Man in Black plot was fumbled. But overall, I was happy with how the show ended.

 

[firehawk12]

Quite the bump, I know, but I just finished watching Lost.

I originally watched season 1 and 2 on netflix probably 8-10 years ago, right before it was removed from Netflix's library. I got upset that it was removed and ended up reading the ending. I was quite put off by what I read, and vowed to never waste my time to watch the series ever.

Well, fast forward to 2021, my wife asks me if Lost is good. I told her that the first season is incredible, with nothing quite like it. I tell her I don't know if I can put myself through a 6 season TV show, despite not really remembering what the ending was.

I'm quite glad that she convinced me to watch it with her, because wow, what a show. Obviously the last season leaves a bit to be desired (outside the finale), but overall, I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. The characters are all captivating and endearing, with interesting back stories and motivations.

The show tripped over itself a bit introducing more and more mysteries into the mix, and the Jacob/Man in Black plot was fumbled. But overall, I was happy with how the show ended.

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You might want to check out The Leftovers. It's functionally and structurally similar to Lost but with a much better balance between the characters and the mystery box. I suppose it also helps that it was shorter and didn't have a chance to meander like Lost did.

 

[kristmen]

It launched the careers of the first act maestros Lindelof and Abrams. Their first acts are always so good. An ingenious concept, intriguing characters, and their first act-ending unexpected events are always so mysterious and one of a kind.. so much promise! Then everything falls apart

 

[Lemony1984]

LOST is a 10/10.

 

[m_shortpants]

You might want to check out The Leftovers. It's functionally and structurally similar to Lost but with a much better balance between the characters and the mystery box. I suppose it also helps that it was shorter and didn't have a chance to meander like Lost did.

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Thanks for the recommendation! Looks like we have our next show

 

[pollo]

It's legacy will always be people online trying to gaslight you thinking it was good, then the consensus with people offline is that it was shit.

 

[PS9]

Remember when that lady fell down that incredibly deep hole and then an entire crane fell down on top of her and she survived?