Lost

Go here and click on the little barcode hoolie at the bottom Then type in "theislandiswaiting".

I'll admit that there are bigger Lost fans than myself. I mean, I've only ever seen 2 or 3 episodes from the first season in toto with the rest in bits and pieces and last week's season premiere. Yet I spent quite a bit of time last night up at a message board for the show. The premiere seemed to raise 2 questions for every 1 that is answered.

Why does the doctor's watch read 11:14 only to have the patient declared dead in the next scene at 8:15?



Is this cop who brought the above victim to the hospital played by the same actor who will soon have a recurring role on the show?



Viewers finally got a look in the hatch. What does the mural mean?



What is the symbol on the refrigerator in the tunnels that the hatch leads to mean?



It's really quite a bit of fun to read people's theories on what all these things mean and why our intrepid adventurers are on the island in the first place. And I must admit that the mystery is intriguing. Yet I'm still not completely convinced. I mean, I enjoy the show and contemplating the mysteries but I'm still not totally hooked. You see I have this hangup about the flashbacks. Perhaps I need to watch all of the first season and then I shall change my mind but, as it stands, I find the flashbacks to be cheesy and an excuse not to have to do some tough writing. They serve to flesh out the characters and illuminate their motivations but, from what I've seen, I'd rather that the character development happen via actions and conversation on the island. I find myself getting really into the story and getting this sense of claustrophobia from knowing that they're trapped on this island and the show cuts to a flashback and the all those eerie, foreboding feelings I have disappear in a keystroke on an Avid editor. I dislike the sense of dislocation and the way the sense of space is built up and torn down constantly. Find ways to tell us viewers what we need to know via actions and dialogue on the island. Sometimes the show does both. Take the flashback of Hurley waking up and hurrying to catch his flight. There's a humorous element, to be sure, but it seems the only things present that were in any way relevant to his predicament on the island were the appearances of the numbers in the background on signs and whatnot. Then, in the season finale, Hurley sees the numbers on the hatch and starts yelling at Locke to not blow the hatch open. And then last week Hurley gives an explanation of the numbers and why they are meaningful to him. The flashback was pointless as what little of significance in it was reiterated elsewhere. Why flashback when you can accomplish the same thing with scenes on the island? I am reminded of a scene like the following in countless Hollywood movies: in a medium shot, a guy walks into a room and sees an object on a table. The audience can see exactly what it is and knows that the guy recognizes it as well. So he does to reach for it and we are given a close-up of the object as if to say, "If you weren't paying attention to the incredibly obvious scene prior to this one, well – here it is again." If the audience can see that the object is a widget in the medium shot, why put the close-up in? Might as well put the fucking word on the screen with an arrow pointing to the object on the table. And, from what I've seen, most of the flashbacks in Lost are either like this or give us info which could be and should be done via scenes on the island. Of course, last week it seems like the guy inhabiting the hatch was in a flashback so that's a toughie. But I think it's a waste of time to show a 5-minute flashback of one of the characters as a drug addict pre-crash when it only serves to show motivation for getting drugs on the island. Who knows? Maybe they will serve a greater purpose as the show goes on. But I think it's unfair of the shows makers to expect us to see something once and fit it into the puzzle 2 seasons later. The show needs to answer some questions and resolve some mysteries and then pose new ones. Right now, it feels like it's just mysteries being laid down Pelion upon Ossa.

OK, work is over - I'm outta here!