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How much more Lost can we get?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why are the Others there and why don’t they just leave the island? What do those lottery numbers really mean? And what the heck is that deathly black cloud?
Naturally, a trio of “Lost” executive directors and 11 actors before more than 100 TV critics Sunday failed to conjure up answers to the dozens of questions swirling in the heads of fans losing patience with the perplexing ABC drama, which returns after a three-month hiatus on Feb. 7.
But they tried to explain why the show moves the plotlines forward so slowly, why so many mysteries are piled on with seemingly no resolution.
“We don’t allow the characters to focus on the mythology,” said executive producer Carlton Cuse. “We want the characters to focus on primarily their relationships with each other.” This means answering why there’s a polar bear or a four-toed statue isn’t the focal point of the show.
Fellow executive producer Damon Lindelof said when they’ve shot scenes where the characters discuss the mysteries, “they are incredible boring.”
But Cuse admitted that a show like this, unlike, say “Law & Order” or “E.R.,” needs an “end point.” “We’ve always discussed it would have a beginning, middle and end,” he said. “Once we figure out when that is going to be, I think a lot of these concerns are going away.”
While Cuse wouldn’t say what he thought was the right end point, Lindelof later told a smaller group of reporters that five seasons seemed to be about right but it will depend on a collaboration between the creators and ABC. In reality, it will depend on the ratings and whether the show will be able to maintain a size audience to make it financially feasible to survive until 2009.
Cuse admits there’s a fine balance trying to please a broad audience where individuals are seeking different things from the show. “People do get angry at us but we’re glad that people care enough to be angry,” he said.
Ratings this past fall were down about 15 percent from a year earlier, averaging about 17 million viewers, which Cuse describes as “natural attrition. This show requires sort of vigilant maintenance… It’s hard to drop in and out.”
The producers meted out very small plot droplets. Cuse said the relationship between surgeon Jack (Matthew Fox) and the Other Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) “is very interesting to us.” And the Claire/Charlie story will too develop. Sawyer’s addiction to nicknames for fellow castaways will be addressed, too.
Plus, the odd addition of characters Nikki and Paulo earlier this season will be addressed on the 14th episode. And though flashbacks just as often drag the stories as provide insight into the characters, the producers have no intention of stopping them.
“We do believe that we have enough stories left to tell for all these characters that will take us through the remainder of the series,” Cuse said.
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By Deirdre
January 14, 2007 8:16 PM | Link to this
I don’t understand people who are annoyed by the lack of answers on Lost. To me, the fun is in the journey, not arriving at the destination. Once you know the answers, the show loses it’s appeal (anybody remember Bruce and Cybill finally doing the deed on Moonlighting?) As we learn more and more about the characters and the island(islands?)the questions multiply. This is not a ‘solve the problem in 60 minutes or less kind of show. It’s like a novel. Each chapter opens new doors.