After Lost Then What?

For those of us who have followed the ABC show Lost, this is a season with mixed emotions. It is the last season of the show that has been the most entertaining, yet infuriating, show on television. Whether your were there at the beginning and dropped out or have stuck with it through this final season, you know that this show has been unlike any other on TV. The only show that even comes close to the weirdness, frustrating and brilliance was Twin Peaks lo those many years ago.

Throughout the seasons we have been bombarded with one strange thing after another. We have seen polar bears on a tropical island. We have seen giant smoke monsters kill scores of people. We have seen main, and beloved, characters die. Yet, we all know that no one really ever stays entirely dead on the mysterious island. We have seen the island moved. We have had villains who, one week, we sort of feel for and then, the next week, hate all over again.

I still contend that whatever ending the writers have come up with is not going to satisfy many fans. For so many seasons the show has been building and building to some kind of climax, and it just will not be satisfying. Unless the show really has some major bangs hidden up its sleeve, there are going to be pissed off fans.

That aside, ABC and the television world is going to have a major gap to fill once the season ends. There have been attempts to start Lost-like shows on other channels. Once it became popular, most of the other networks thought that people were just clamoring for more shows with lots of characters, a continuing story-line you had to see from the start, and strange conspiracies and odd occurrences. None of them were ever able to capture that lightning in a bottle a second time.

The list of shows that lies in the wake of Lost is almost staggering. Invasion, The Nine, Day Break, and more are on that list. Prison Break should also be noted, although it lasted longer. Heroes was thought to be a major contender but then did the brilliant move of having a truly successful first season and then completely changing the formula that brought it success the next season.

None of them were able to capture that mixture of horror, adventure, action and suspense all mixed with that paranoia and weirdness that just make Lost so special. They also did not have the same writers. Even Joss Whedon, the creator of great television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, tried with Dollhouse and failed.

So, are there any shows that might be the successor to the throne of weirdness and fan-dom that comes with Lost? So far, the only show that gets my vote for potential is Flashforward which is also on ABC. It has the only plot, characters and story that seems like it might actually get there. However, the show has stumbled all over the place since its outstanding debut in 2009.

That is not necessarily a bad thing. We need to remember that Lost well, lost its way there for a while. Can we every expunge the story of that couple who ended up paralyzed by spider venom and buried alive in that strange Twilight Zone-like episode a few seasons back? Can we all remember the very long seasons where it seemed like, literally, nothing happened episode after episode before, suddenly, things exploded and half of the favorite characters would die? Lost stumbled around as it tried to figure out how to extend its premise over an indefinite number of seasons and it lost viewers because of that.

No, Lost benefited from the writers meeting with the people who run the network and deciding exactly when to end the show. With the end in sight, the writers were able to focus their stories toward moving the plot forward to an inevitable and planned conclusions. Lost would have been a disaster had it been allowed to play forever and eventually just get cancelled.

The show V, I thought had promise, but something just hasn't clicked with that show. The original had the power to shock and amaze audiences. Somehow the new version just seems slow and boring. I honestly don't care if the earth of the new V gets taken over by these very hot-looking aliens.

Only Flashforward has shown at least a small bit of spark in its plotting, characters, and overall mythology. It has meandered, however. The plot moves forward but it seems plodding. I think Flashforward would benefit from talking with the people who run ABC and discussing when the show will have an actual ending. Then it can play out like an extra-long miniseries rather than the show trying to cling to its slot with its fingernails.

Even if Flashforward fails, there will be attempts to reproduce Lost's success. It took a long time after Twin Peaks ended for Lost to come along, remember. So, those of us who are fans may have to settle for Lost conventions and watching the seasons over and over again via DVD and as the show inevitably goes into syndication somewhere.

It's been a great run. It's been so great that fans are looking for something else to cling to. I think there is potential for at least one show, but they have to make some changes quickly to save it. And if that fails, well, we'll always have the Island.