LOST is a series that has been a regular part of my life. Taking advantage of the fact that the series was added to Netflix, I decided to refresh my memory after more than a decade. I realized that they don’t make shows like this anymore.
New productions are constantly appearing on Netflix. Series that premiered years ago are also regularly added to the library. One of them is LOST with the Polish title “Lost”which recently joined the platform’s repertoire. I took the opportunity to refresh my memory. This was a particularly important experience for me, as the series had been around me almost throughout my adolescence.
I first came across it when it debuted on TVP1. I was less than 10 years old then and I eagerly awaited new episodes every Thursday. That’s how I watched the first two seasons, but later my contact with the series broke off, and I only heard vague stories from friends about the mysterious island. Later I managed to watch a few episodes from the fourth season on AXNIt wasn’t until late high school that I remembered the series and decided to watch it from start to finish.
Now, after more than a decade, Netflix convinced me to watch it again and I realized something very important.
There is a lack of series like LOST
The lost are above all a series with variable dynamicsbut with constant tension. The producers knew when to slow down and when to speed up the action, constantly interspersing current events with flashbacks to the past. However, I realized that what was the series’ strong point may no longer be adapted to the modern viewer, who demands that there be “something happening all the time” on the screen.
Today, television seems more focused on quick gratification of the viewer. Modern productions focus on spectacle, dynamic action and simple plots that can be understood without much effort. This is the result of changes in the way we consume content – series marathons, algorithms suggesting what to watch next, a constant fight for attention. In such an environment, it is difficult to find a production that dares to slowly build a mystery and multi-layered, ambiguous characters.
LOST took a big risk. Instead of focusing on one main charactertold many stories of equally important characters and a few side ones. It happened that several episodes in a row were devoted to flashbacks and current experiences of one specific character, who we were not necessarily interested in. Considering also the pace of the action, it is easy to guess that this could put off the current audience and make them give up watching in the middle of the season.
It is also worth noting that The Lost Ones demanded attention from the viewermemory and observation. Many of the puzzles from the first episode were solved only in the finale. In addition, the series is consistent in its inconsistency, no matter how it sounds. On the one hand, it begins as a group of castaways on a mysterious island, and ends with time travel, blowing up a hydrogen bomb and alternative timelines. However, from the very beginning, the series suggests where it will go. In the first episodes, a polar bear appears, a black fog that kidnaps castaways and John Locke’s delusions about the supposed power of this island.
LOST is a series that also lived off-screen. Fans created theories, analyzed every frame, and producers threw in hints and additional materials in the form of ARG games or interviews. It was a kind of interactive experience, something that seems increasingly rare in today’s more commercialized world. Modern productions are often created with one, maximum two seasons in mind – they don’t have the time or space to build a complex plot.
Of course, you can’t say that modern series are worse. They are just different, adapted to today’s times and viewers’ expectations. They have their advantages, such as high level of productionexcellent acting, and innovative approach to social issues. However, they lack the sense of great mystery, infinite possibilities, and emotions that accompanied watching LOST. And I don’t mean only the first viewing, when I was almost ten years old, or when I finished watching it from beginning to end in high school. After a whole decade, Lost captivated me just as much as it did years ago.
Graphics: ABC/ Series Promotional Materials
Source: antyweb.pl
