P.C. Shannon

Caroline was out of town for a baby shower last weekend, and that gave me the chance to catch up on my shows, including Lost (although I still haven’t seen this week’s episode yet). My constant fear—and debate topic with other fans of the show—is that the producers and the network, in an effort to milk a successful show for every last ounce of profit, will drag it out way past its prime, much like The X-Files. If the recent episodes are any indication, the writers are already starting to run out of gas.

The main thing that got me into Lost (I started at the beginning of season 2) was that it was sort of trivially about the characters’ life on the island and more about their lives before flight 815 as told through flashbacks. I was drawn in by a show that was pretty light on overt plot and very heavy on character, which is pretty rare for mainstream film or television.

But as season 2 drew to a close and the mystery of The Others deepened, the balance shifted in the other direction. I think there were even a couple of episodes there that were completely devoid of flashbacks. That was just fine with me because I had been sucked in.

Events continued apace in season 3, and we even got a little backstory on some of The Others, which raised more questions than it answered (as any good episode in an evolving mystery should). But lately the show’s overall plot has slowed to a snail’s pace, and the character development seems gimmicky. The secret Claire connection? How Locke broke his back? Sounds more like writers stalling for time than great insight.

I’m concerned that this is the beginning of the end—Eric going to Africa, Mulder going into hiding, or Fonzie jumping the shark. But it doesn’t have to be that way. British shows tend to run for short length of time. The original BBC The Office is only twelve episodes and a Christmas special, and it’s made stronger because of its brevity. Here’s hoping Lost ends with a bang and not a whimper.