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CAN "LOST" SOLVE A TV MYSTERY?
Nov. 26, 2004
You can't beat a great, head-scratching mystery, and, boy, does "Lost" have a doozy: Exactly what in the heck is happening on that island? Reluctant leader Jack sees visions of his dead father. Ex-Iraqi solder Sayid hears voices whispering through the trees. Creepy guy Locke, formerly paralyzed, regains the use of his legs. There are polar bears living in the sweltering heat, and a giant monster that snacks on the castaways.
It's not so much one mystery as it is a smorgasbord of mysteries, all bound together in one thrillingly opaque mythology. Despite tantalizing clues, the secrets of "Lost" remain maddeningly under wraps--trapped inside the brains of show creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof.
And although we "Lost" fans are dying to know the answers, we must not forget to enjoy the questions. Relish in these early episodes because the fact is, when it comes to great TV head-scratchers, the mystery is always far more enjoyable than the inevitable letdown of a solution.
Look no further than "Twin Peaks" and "The X-Files," two other sci-fi/fantasy brainteasers that sit easily among the best television shows of all time. And yet those shows earned such stature based on the strength of their beginnings. Like "Lost," "The X-Files" also propped itself up on an intricate structure of mysteries laid over puzzles intertwined with enigmas. During the first four seasons, it was so much fun to theorize on where Fox Mulder's sister was and what evil deeds the Cigarette Smoking Man was planning with his devious cohorts. You needed a chart just to map out the alliances and machinations of the show's bundle of alien factions.
And then somewhere around season five, it all started to fall apart. It seemed "X-Files" creator Chris Carter got so busy laying on the show's complex mysteries that he forgot to craft satisfactory resolutions to them. Thus, the myriad plotlines collapsed under their own weight, and "The X-Files" limped to a meaningless conclusion. Even the fate of Mulder's sister--so integral to those early episodes--was revealed almost as an afterthought near the end of the show's run. (And it was really lame. Something about angel-like creatures that rescued the souls of children in danger.)
"Twin Peaks" fared even worse. In the spring of 1990, everybody wanted to know who killed Laura Palmer. TV fans obsessed over cherry pies, backward-talking dwarves and a demonic spirit named Bob. It was televised bliss, but by the time creators David Lynch and Mark Frost finally revealed during the second season that Laura was offed by her pop, the show had creatively unraveled and most fans had deserted.
Not all fantasy shows with dense mythologies suffer this curse. Joss Whedon found a nice way around the problem on his two signature
shows--"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." Instead of setting up plotlines that went on ad infinitum, Whedon and his writers created mysteries and villains which only lasted one season. By the end of that year's 22nd episode, all was revealed. The next season, it was on to new things, and as a result, those two shows kept the audience satisfied instead of feeling cheated.
It won't be so easy for Abrams and Lindelof. "Lost" is clearly constructed as one big, fantastic tale, not a series of separate stories featuring familiar characters. With the ratings so high, let's go ahead and pencil in "Lost" for at least a five-year run. Do the writers have enough clever tricks up their sleeves to keep the show interesting for that long, while at the same time rewarding the viewer by answering some of the show's big questions?
We fans can hope.
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