Lostwatch: Big Mister Sunshine

I'm gonna admit, that while I enjoyed this episode, it seemed a let down from the general awesomeness of "Not in Portland," the Desmond episode, and Jack's Tattoos' episode.

I think the problem is that when Lost REALLY had its footing solidly in its first and second seasons, it had time for the serious advancing of the storyline (mainly acheived by Jack, Kate, and Locke) and time for levity (Hurley certainly, but also at times Charlie, Sawyer, etc.) Certainly each character at different times achieves each goal (Jack has had some great funny moments, just as Hurley has had serious whole episodes), but when Lost really clicks, we get both happening simultaneously. That, to me, can only happen when all the castaways are together, or their stories being told in parallel - this has been impossible with Jack/Kate/Sawyer being apart, but hopefully will start happening now.

P.S. James, great review of the best episode of Heroes BY FAR the other day...I was transfixed - the closest Heroes has ever gotten to "Lost"-esque solidity in writing, mystery (what was Hiro's dad doing there?), pathos (HRG taking the bullet and mind-wipe for the love of his daughter) and just plain coolness (burnt Claire emerging and healing? Awesome!).

Even though it was the season's comic relief episode, I enjoyed it. I'm not one of those whiners who think Lost has lost its way. It is still "must see" TV for me every week. One question, what actually hit the chicken shack? I ran my DVR in slo-mo to see if it was the black smoke and still was not sure.

The van was a good story line, but there is no way it was going to run after all that time. I know, hope and making your own luck. The one thing I wish they would have done differently was to have Hurley actually drive onto the beach.

Keith,

I wondered that too....why didn't Hurley drive it down to the beach? I figured that was a no brainer - have the other guys help clear a path, and drive down to the beach.. And then, perhaps, drive the van around the entire beach of the island (something I'm still wondering why no one has tried to do, even if on foot, just to see how big the island is).

And I agree Lost hasn't "lost" its way...the problem with any show that has such a deep "investment" cost (like Lost) is that it eventually hemorrages viewers - people fall behind, miss some episodes, or just start forgetting some of the plotlines/storylines. Others decide after watching the DVDs that they prefer watching the show in that format, so they don't tune in weekly. Lost is still (or, once these folks catch up on DVD, will be regarded as) one of the most impressive shows in television history.

In fact, I'm kind of wondering if DVDs are going to kill TV, or at least markedly change it. It seems to me that the future of TV will be in some ways as a marketing tool for DVD sales of TV shows, meaning we'll see a lot more "in-house studio" created shows, since networks can pull from two revenue streams...

I am willing to suspend my disbelief long enough to accept that a bus equppied with an 8-track would have enough battery power, potent gasoline, or viable oil to run at all. Or that the brakes drums aren't rusted, or that it had brake fluid at all after sitting in the jungle for 30 years. And let's not think about how awful that beer would taste.

But I am not willing to accept the drawn-out plot of Lost any longer. All of the answers provided this season haven't been answers at all. Pushing the button stopped the core from exploding, but that doesn't explain what the hatch was used for. The usually skeptical and inquisitive Jack hasn't asked a pertinent question of his captors, such as "Why are we here?" Who cares that the Others live on the same island as our castaways? We knew that in this season's opener, unless everyone thought Ethan and Goodwin were planning on running across the water to reach the crash site in one hour. Jack's tattoo mean what now? The Aussie flight attendent is alive? Who cares?

This episode was quite funny, particularly Sawyer's numerous nicknames, but I want some answers. This isn't The X-Files, where inattention to the show's mythos was built into the show's structure. This is the third season; unless the flahsbacks have a direct bearing on the show's mythology I don't want to see them.

If answers--real answers--aren't forthcoming I will not be back next season. Perhaps the show won't be, either.

Gerry, I will agree with you on one point: I don't think Lost needs to have flashbacks in every episode anymore. Cuse and Lindelof seem to be unshakably convinced that the fans want and insist on them, but from what I hear and read, that just isn't true.

Oh, and chaddogg--

The flip side of DVD sales is that they can mean a show like Lost, a blockbuster on DVD (compared with, say, CSI) can stay on the air with lower ratings. When I wrote my feature on Lost this fall, I crunched the numbers some, tho I don't have them at hand. But say you sell a millionish DVD sets (reasonable for a show like Lost) at 40, 50 buck a pop on average. You're talking $40 or $50 million gross, and, as JJ Abrams pointed out to me, it doesn't cost that much to press a DVD.

Don't hold me to those specific numbers, but you get the general point.

Gerry,

Funny you should mention the X-Files, because that is exactly what I compare Lost to when people complain about the plot and wanting answers. How many years did X-Files string viewers along with bits and pieces? I remember people making the same complaints about the X-Files and threatening to quit watching....yet it remained a popular show for a long time....because of its format. I think Lost will do the same.

I didn't finish my thought in my first post. Hurley kept wanting to get the van running because everyone needed hope. It wasn't just for him, it was something he wanted to get others involved in. It only seemed logical that he would bring the hope to them once he got it running. It is a small thing, but I found it odd.

AS someone who has posted here "whining" about "Lost", I have to say I found last night's episode fun, but mainly because it was a nice character study of the guys in the jungle, that didn't really need to have anything to do with the bigger plot.

That's been my contention all along...go with the basic Swiss Family Robinson concepts of human beings attempting to survive, physically and emotionally, on an island.

I, too, was hoping Hurley would make it down to the beach so the rest of the castaways could rejoice in the VW bus find. And even the flashback was funny, both Hurley's interaction with the L.A.-archetype Asian street reporter, and the idea that Hurley can't just love fried chicken, he has to buy the joint! *L*

It was the simplicity of this episode that made it fun for me. I just get terrified when Abrams and company start thinking too big.

He had a great little secret agent-Girl From U.N.C.L.E. show in "Alias", and he killed it five years ahead of its time by getting all cute with the never-ending labyrinth that was the Rambaldi prophecy.

Keith,

Agreed on X-Files. But those answers--except for the last two seasons anyway, and especially the last episode--were much more satisfying than anything Lost has provided. In hindsight, those were actual pieces of a puzzle. Unless Cuse and Co. are brilliant beyond brilliant, I don't see how anything "revealed" in the most recent Jack-centered episode has anything to do with anything.

And at least Mulder seized opportunities to extract answers from the Cigarette Smoking Man. Jack acted like being forced from his zoo cage to answer the Sheriff's questions was an everyday occurrence. And he sat there and answered the questions! Even a Mulder inspired "Who are you working for!" would have been more satisfying.

I still think the flashbacks work as a storytelling device; I just want the writers to focus on the actual story I tune in to watch: WTF is up with the island? I don't care that Hurley's daddy issues caused him to get fat.

Gerry (and James),
I have to agree with you on the ending of flashbacks - there are a few I still want to see (Locke losing his ability to walk; one with Rousseau coming to the island?; probably some others, particularly if we see SPOILER ALERT PERHAPS that Claire is Jack's sister) but otherwise, we can lose them. And filmex is right, too - I'd like to see some more just pure survivalism on the island. They've been there how long? And no one has malaria? Or "couples" haven't started to pair up? Let's see some of the everyday life on the island.

The X-Files is an interesting but flawed comparison to Lost, though. X-Files had a huge advantage - it could do stand-alone episodes that did nothing to advance the big mythology (think the in-breeding episodes, etc.) that could be interesting on their own, without adding to the larger story (beyond the fact that weirdness is out there). What could Lost do comparatively to those stand-alones?

And James, if DVD sales could help low-rated shows that much, WHY OH WHY did Fox ever cancel Arrested Development? I will seriously never forgive them for that...

Have I been watching a completely different show?

Chaddogg,

I think this week's episode is a stand-alone episode. And that's my point: it doesn't work, at least not anymore. First season, sure. I wanted to see how everyone got to the island, their histories, and how they might be connected. But it's time to get down to it and explain the island's mysteries.