LOST ended a little over 3 years ago and with it much fodder for this blog and my personal reading lists. It was unique in television, I think, because the producers negotiated a fixed end date for the series, which allowed it to have a true story arc. Their intention was to create the TV equivalent of a Dickens novel, an author whose work they referenced more than once on the show.
So why this post? The past few months R and I have been re-watching the series and finding that it holds up well over time. As with rereading a favorite novel, the early seasons resonate more with the knowledge of how things end and the later seasons are more satisfying as well with the earlier episodes fresh in memory. It was a great show, and a good one for revisiting. We got to “The End” the other night and I realized it has one of my favorite endings ever, up there with Watership Down, another book referenced several times on the show.
The most exciting thing, though, was the epilogue “The New Man in Charge” included as a bonus item on the last disc of Season 6. It resolves just a few more island mysteries and completes Walt’s character arc, one of the few big unresolved issues on the show. It was also a real treat to find just a bit more LOST 3 years after it ended.
I don’t have anything wise or profound to say about it now that it’s all over and the mysteries resolved and island dust settled other than Damn, it was a good show. I don’t watch much TV anymore, a side effect of parenthood, but I do still watch The Office and Modern Family. Great shows, both, but it’s hard to get too excited about shows without smoke monsters.
Any LOST fans out there? Have you re-watched the series? How does it hold up for you?
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
James, I am re-watching LOST and have just gotten to season 6. I think the series is holding up very well. I am enjoying LOST more the second time around because I know how it ends and am more attentive to details that I missed earlier. LOST was a great show, and very few television shows have caught my interest like it did. Thanks for creating the book list. I think I will read the books once I finish my second viewing of the series.
Greg
We’ve been re-watching it too… almost done, and yes, it does still hold up. I hope you do try the books and enjoy them as much as I did.