Lost again

You may be right.

I may be crazy.

But I'm watching Lost again.

Even though the first six eps shown in the Fall were horridly boring and without an ounce of action, here I am again. And I've brought the hubster along...against his will, I might add.

I don't like looking like a fool. I'd been telling the Hubster how good Lost was and he'd resisted watching because, truth be told, we have a really poor track record. Seems like everytime we get into a show like Lost, i.e. the type of show that requires you to follow the story lines closely, because they're all tied together - it gets cancelled.

Hello, Daybreak!

In order to beat this jinx, for the first two seasons of Lost, I watched only the first two episodes and the last two. True, I'm clueless about all the small conspiracy bits, but for the most part I'm well-versed enough to watch it without feeling...well, lost.

Thanks Entertainment Weekly!

Anyway, the first time I break this tradition, of course Lost sucked. I sat through all six sucky episodes. So I know. And I was very close to not watching last night. But EW said the pace would be back to the show's fighting form. So I gave it a try.

Glad I did. Last night was typical of the Lost eps of yore. Or is yor?

What struck me most about last night episode, besides it being really good, was it hit very close to home, writing-wise.

I'm in the midst of TWISTED edits. My editor has suggested we cut some chapters - and not just one or two, but about six. Being that I'm much less neurotic than I was during edits for So Not The Drama, I didn't bat an eye at this suggestion.

No, seriously.

When I read through the recommended cuts, I realized - Hmmm...it really won't impact the story, much. Matter of fact, their absence indeed improves the pace.

There's some finessing to do, to make sure the information won't be missed. But for the most part, these chapters are very cut-able.

Well, the Lost writers need to talk to my editor. I'm sure she could have told them that five of the six episodes shown in the fall could have easily been left as trash balls in the writing room. Literally, last night's episode should have been...at most, the fourth episode shown in the fall.

Would we have wondered why Sawyer and Kate were suddenly closer? Or what all the tension between Jack and Juliette was about?

Maybe. But I'm betting we would have lived without all the backstory the fall episodes provided.

Better yet, a lot of what took place in six episodes could have been condensed into three. Bottom line, the writers of Lost suffered a bit from Popularity Anxiety, I think.

P.A. is when you find yourself the creator of something wildly popular. In the face of the success, you try to hold on to it. So what do you do? You go and change the formula that made the vehicle successful, in the first place.

I've always wondered how Lost would keep us engaged. Let's face it, either the story becomes how they come to live happily ever after on this island (a la Gilligans Island) or, how many of them perish in attempts to get off.

Stephen King (a big fan) implored the writers of Lost, don't overstay your welcome. I agree.

The fall episodes smack of people about to overstay their welcome.

Thank goodness, last night went back to the formula - moving the story forward and pushing the characters to their fate - live there happy or die trying to get off.

As a writer, I'm hoping I can follow my own advice!