The end of Lost...?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by happy_terd

Seems like the kind of show where if you were to miss a single episode the following week you would be "lost." No pun intended.

In some cases, missing an episode would leave you missing the motivation from a major character, gleaned from their "flashbacks"... but rarely would you be completely lost on the plot from missing one episode. And they were pretty good at using "previously on" opening material, gleaned from whatever episode might provide background on today's episode, so you had a pretty good idea what was going on even if you'd missed some material.

Also, the producers dealt with those who had missed episodes, or even entire seasons, by running "enhanced" rerun episodes... basically, pop-up informational text would appear periodically at the bottom of the screen, explaining why something on-screen was significant, or which past episode it might refer to. They sometimes provided confirmation of story elements you could only guess at without them.

Example, from Richard's backstory episode:

Spoiler:

Revealing that Richard's wife was dying of Tuberculosis, aka "Consumption"... and that the doctor Richard went to for help knew he did not have a cure for her, and was deliberately trying to con him out of whatever money he had.

[cmdahler]

There were plenty of episodes in the series that could easily have been missed without affecting the overall storyline. Pretty much the entire 3rd and 4th seasons were completely useless to the series' main story-arc, and that was evident when the 5th season started after the producers got an end-of-series date in hand and were able to concentrate on the wrap-up. The beginning of the 5th season was almost like watching a totally different show, so many of the meandering 3rd and 4th season subplots and questions they raised were just immediately dropped and never revisited. At that point, my emotional connection to the show was severed and I was just watching out of curiosity to see what they had in mind for an ending, but I stopped really caring about the characters during this extended wrap-up.

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Does Lost have further embellishment in its future? Or are we done? Should we expect a sequel or spinoff at some point? Maybe a movie? Are Losties warming up their keyboards with ideas of fanfic (in ebook formats, of course), rivaled only by the plots at a major publisher to continue the saga in print for us?

Personally, I think the holes left at the end just make good business sense. This is a series that definitely has a dedicated fan base, probably worth at least a couple hundred million in revenue with a couple of follow-on movies, etc. That's not chump change. The whole Ben thing at the end was a blatant teaser, but it was probably put there more on a "just in case" basis than with anything specific in mind at the moment.

Maybe most importantly: Should they? Or is it the worst possible idea in the world? Should I be taken out and shot for even contemplating it?

Right now, it would be a terrible idea. They need to let the fan base absorb what they've seen and let that seed germinate a bit. There's still a ton of revenue to be made off the series DVD and Blu-ray releases, etc. But these guys are decent enough story-tellers that with a good budget and a lot of time to prepare, they could probably do a successful job of a spin-off series or certainly at least one movie (there are definitely enough holes in the original story ending to make at least one feature-length movie out of it). I don't think ABC or the Lost producers are going to leave all that money potential lying on the table, though, so I'd bet that within a year, or two at the most, you'll see something hitting the media.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Finally, someone is addressing the initial question!

Let me ask of some of you others: Suppose an author wrote a book or series that answered (quite cleverly, we'd hope) many of the questions left by the show? Would it be worth reading? Or would it be considered "too late" and therefore pointless?

Same question goes for a sequel series or a movie.

[sakura-panda]

I've read that the creators have no intention of ever revisiting anything LOST-related again. That once the finale aired, they were not going to discuss it or add to it.

That isn't to say that maybe someone else could/would continue it, but they wouldn't really know what the original intent was, would they?

I personally would not like to see any sort of continuation. I think that it did end satisfyingly and I am willing to accept that the important points have all been revealed and answered. While I wouldn't turn away from more information from the original creators, I'm also not looking for anything extra.

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by cmdahler

The whole Ben thing at the end was a blatant teaser, but it was probably put there more on a "just in case" basis than with anything specific in mind at the moment.

I disagree.

Spoiler:

I think the end showed Ben finally getting what he most desired and to show him living it -- and the inevitable disappointments that go along with it -- would take away from the triumph of finally achieving it.

[Turt99]

I think if said book was written by someone from the original writing team then it could be a very interesting book. That way you might get some true insight into what might not have come across clearly in the show. But if it was from someone else then its just someone its just another take on the story, still interesting but not as true to what the writers had planned.

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by sakura-panda

I've read that the creators have no intention of ever revisiting anything LOST-related again. That once the finale aired, they were not going to discuss it or add to it.

People say a lot of things. Wave enough money in front of them, and then you'll see how serious they are about that.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Turt99

I think if said book was written by someone from the original writing team then it could be a very interesting book. That way you might get some true insight into what might not have come across clearly in the show. But if it was from someone else then its just someone its just another take on the story, still interesting but not as true to what the writers had planned.

In other words: Fanfic.

I don't have a problem with fanfic... but I'd also like to see the original writers provide their character notes to a writer/publisher intent on producing an "authorized" novel or series of novels. Though I suspect quite a number of those unanswered questions won't be answered from the writers' notes either... I'm not sure how much of that material was "planned," and other than some rough guidance, I'd expect it would be up to a new writer to come up with their own answers, and they'd be as "officially valid" as anyone else's.

The way I see it, if even someone with absolutely no contact with the producers comes up with a good yarn with good answers to those questions, they can be accepted by readers. Conversely, if the writers' answers are combined with a badly-done story, they won't sell anyone.

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by sakura-panda

I disagree.

I understand what you're saying, but you have to remember in all this that there is a business aspect to it. These guys don't write this stuff just because they like doing it; they're in it to make a living, too. The Ben thing we're discussing is a perfect example of them leaving their options open for the future: your interpretation of the event is certainly the way it was intended to be interpreted on an artistic basis within the original story-arc, but it has the added benefit to the business-side of movie and TV production of providing a perfect tie-in to a future storyline if they should ever decide to return to the concept.

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by cmdahler

I understand what you're saying, but you have to remember in all this that there is a business aspect to it. These guys don't write this stuff just because they like doing it; they're in it to make a living, too. The Ben thing we're discussing is a perfect example of them leaving their options open for the future: your interpretation of the event is certainly the way it was intended to be interpreted on an artistic basis within the original story-arc, but it has the added benefit to the business-side of movie and TV production of providing a perfect tie-in to a future storyline if they should ever decide to return to the concept.

I do agree with what you are saying here. I guess I'm objecting more to the "blatant teaser" than to the "just in case" part of your earlier comment. Maybe it's more wishful thinking on my part.

I don't mind when stories are left open to interpretation rather than having every little detail explained, as long as the main concerns (in this case, the character storylines) are resolved.

Often, in my limited experience, cashing in on an subject's popularity either falls short of expectations or tarnishes the original to such an extent that I no longer enjoy the original. Not all of the time, but enough that I tend to stay away from continuations of stories that I think have been concluded.

I'm concerned that over explanation will take away from the small mysteries that are still present in the story and will interfere with my rewatching of the series. I like having the option of making up my own interpretations of the events that aren't specifically defined and fixed.

[dmaul1114]

I would take some official continuation of the story as I was pretty let down by the finale. I watched more for the Island mystery/mythos than the characters, so it was incredibly frustrating to have so much of that tossed aside and ignored or given vague answers etc.

So maybe a spin off show focusing on Hurley and Ben's time guarding the Island that can answer most of that stuff--or a series of books! No interest in fanfic. Plenty of than theories on everything out there. I want official, cannon explanations for all the mysteries they left open etc.

As is, it was a very disappointing ending to show I enjoyed following the first 5 seasons immensely. I've spent to much time discussing it on the other forums, so I won't get into more details on my feelings here.

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by sakura-panda

Often, in my limited experience, cashing in on an subject's popularity either falls short of expectations or tarnishes the original to such an extent that I no longer enjoy the original. Not all of the time, but enough that I tend to stay away from continuations of stories that I think have been concluded.

In general, that's very true, which is why so many successful series producers do refuse to revisit their topics, for fear of ruining the original. I can think of a few exceptions to the rule, but not many.

Spoiler:

I do think that Ben's storyline has some interesting possibilities. The clear implications behind Hurley's and Ben's brief conversation outside the church are that Hurley and Ben lived on the island for some indeterminate timeframe, doing God knows what. When Jack looked out of the plane's window in the alternate reality just after the turbulence that in that existence did not down the plane, the view is of an island that is underwater, implying that perhaps at some point in time in the past the island did sink after all, which could have happened at some point after Jack died on the island. The whole Hurley/Ben/Desmond story could, with such talented actors and writers, be turned into another compelling story arc that could span one or two movies or 3 or 4 seasons.

Yes, you're absolutely right, the story as it has now ended is relatively satisfactory, and could reasonably be seen to end here with no loss of artistry. When I said blatant teaser, though, I meant that if the owners of the franchise ever did want to do a spinoff, this would be a fairly obvious tangent to take; it's almost beyond reason to say that professional script writers with a commercial eye would have written such an obvious potential second story arc into the end of this one with absolutely no intention of ever exploiting it in the future. I mean, you gotta admit, from the time Hurley and Ben dragged Desmond from the cave, they said things to each other there and at the church that practically bludgeons you over the head with a sledgehammer that there is a complete story between those two for some indeterminate time between the island and the church. In fact, it could be easily seen that the writers actually left themselves two outs: what happened after they dragged Desmond from the cave, and then what does Ben go on to do after Hurley departs the scene. Everything else that is unanswered about previous minor subplots, etc., can be left behind. These two possibilities are practically begging for either a couple of movies or a couple of follow-on TV series. Lindelhof and Cuse are creative geniuses, no doubt. They are also savvy businessmen and clearly didn't pass on the opportunity to write themselves a couple of story options for future exploitation if the commercial audience is there for it.

[DixieGal]

Tim and I loved this show and saw every single episode.

Spoiler:

I screamed, "Look! It's Shannon and Boone!" and cried like a baby a few eps earlier when Sun and Jin died.

In the finale, why didn't they have any of the tail-enders, such as Eko or Libby?

I wish they had explained more about Dharma stations. Remember the map that Locke saw early in the show, which had what looked like about a dozen stations? I wanted to know what was in the rest of the stations.

Even in seasons 3 and 4, we enjoyed it. They didn't explain in the finale what happened, for instance, to Aaron, who never returned to the island.

Gotta go, dinner is beeping. Love you guys lots!

[happy_terd]