Lost & 24: The end of an era

Next week, we will be wishing farewell to 2 tv series -- Lost and 24. It is sad to see them leave the air because both, in their own ways, were inventive and imaginative stories. While neither was perfect and both had their own story-telling flaws, one can't deny the creativity that went into both shows.

24 first aired shortly after 9/11. In fact, the original pilot episode had to be reedited because the network was scared that seeing a plane explode on television just a few weeks after we saw the real thing might not be the best move. The show then managed to predict the future by showing us a black President (back when Obama was completely unheard of outside of Illinois) and laid the groundwork for a national debate on the use of torture to obtain information. Lost in all of this discussion was a well-done series that moved along at a pace that most movies would envy. Other shows (such as Heroes) attempted to end on cliff hangers but 24 was able to keep the audience hooked and wanting to see more.

This was a show that never should have worked. It was a gimmick show (each hour represented 1 hour of real time over the course of a 24-hour season) and the plot twists becaming increasingly ridiculous. You had to also accept many plot contrivances (such as a hostage crisis that lasts for 25 minutes in real time but is treated as if it lasted for hours or days) and the predictability of the season (each season there HAD to be a mole who would betray the heroes). The plots were so over the top that it made the James Bond saga look like a Ken Burns documentary.

But, in spite of its flaws, it worked. What carried it through the 9 years was Kiefer Sutherland. No matter how goofy the plot, his character of Jack Bauer (the stalwart and almost super human hero) was completely invested in the storyline. You bought into the story because HE bought into it. He was a true hero for the 21st century.

Likewise, Lost, has a storyline that started off mysterious and became increasingly convoluted as time went on. At one point, last season, one of the characters attempted to recite what generally occurred over the previous 4 years to his mother. At the end, his mother had the same look of confusion that anyone would have if you tried to summarize the storyline to an outside. Is there any real sensible way to bring together a time-travelling island, tropical polar bears, vengeance-seeking-god-like brothers AND an airplane crash in a way that makes any sort of sense? If there is, let me know, because I would love to use that summary to explain the show to others who haven't watched it.

But, I love the show--absolutly, unabashedly, love the show. I don't attempt to make complete sense of it. There are questions and mysteries that will never be explained and plot threads that will be forever left dangling. There are contradictions in the storyline that give the impression that the creators were making up the details as they went. The best way to appreciate this show, though, is to not focus on the details but on the big picture. When you do that, you will see that this is one of the most epic stories ever told. This is a show that dared to have 16 characters in the opening credits AND to tell a story that spanned several continents and a couple of thousand years. It was a thought-provoking show that incorporated philosophy, religion and science fiction all together into one giant package that was entertaining at the same time.

I think that is what I will miss about both series -- they dared to be different. When one of the biggest announcements of next year's shows is a spinoff of Law & Order and they claim that it's different because it's set in Los Angeles instead of New York (the title of the series -- Law & Order: LA. How long did it take for them to think that one up?), it's sad to see the end of 2 shows that pushed the norm and stuck to their guns for being different.

24 and Lost were not easy shows to follow. Both required constant viewing because of the serialized nature of the series. Both also expected the audience to accept something different or clever. But, if you went with it, you were rewarded with many hours of entertaining television. And I applaud and thank the networks for giving them a chance. It is sad to see them go but I will be happy that they existed.