Monday, May 24, 2010

Goodbye, Lost.

So.  It’s over.  As I’m writing this, less than 24 hours ago the television phenomenon that was Lost ended its six year long run.  I have to tell you I’m a little breathless.  I feel a little cold and empty… and a little Lost.  Not by the closure or resolution of the show.  It ended the way any fan could ask for.  Sure there are going to be some detractors, but to heck with them.  I say to them the same words Jack’s dad said to him in final moments, “Let go.”

No, I’m feeling this way because what is there left?  I mean in the television landscape.  No other show has been as epic in scope as this piece of pop culture.  The Wire came close with it sprawling tale of crime ridden Baltimore.  But Lost transcended with its tales of interconnected lives, salvation and good vs. evil, just to name a few.  Lost was more than just a story about a mysterious island.  It was a philosophical discussion on humanity.  It was a piece about characters that we loved.  Ones that we hated.  And ones that we loved to hate.  All who had deep flaws they needed to overcome in order to be find their way home.

I’ve come to the conclusion that no show will ever match the epic scale Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse so brilliantly pulled off with terrific storytelling.  There will be generic copies that will try to take the throne Lost has left empty, but they will ultimately fall short  (see Flash Forward).  Instead I embrace the void the show has left in my heart.  Why, you ask?  Because for the last six years I was transformed by the magic of storytelling.  And now it’s time to “Let go”.