Monday, May 29, 2006

Confessions of a "Lost" American


Confessing my shallow interests in television is not a proud moment, but I'm not alone in my interest in the "Lost" series. It is a rather finely constructed web of deceits and mysteries which can both follow typical TV conventions as well as distort them, reminding me of such other great programs which I became addicted to like "Twin Peaks" and "The Prisoner".

Thanks to Big Orange Michael, I read a most interesting theory about the Real Meaning of the events on the show in Entertainment Weekly. (Side note: Being caught reading EW is akin to someone catching you reading US Weekly and as I rule I read neither. Honest-to-Pete I don't.)

Writing here about a TV show is a feat of sheer Geekiness, but thanks to Bill Gates and bad reality television, Geek is In. Embracing your inner (or outer for that matter) Geek is the hallmark of the moment.

Apologies aside, the above-mentioned theory calls into importance the writings of Charles Dickens, master storyteller and the man who perfected serial storytelling. I'm sure the writers of "Lost" have more than a passing admiration for Dickens, as most good writers do. And you can read the book which the character of Desmond, one-time hatch-inhabitant, holds so dear in the last episode, "Our Mutual Friend", by clicking here.

Speaking of television viewing - I did not realize at the time that I had chosen to watch the 3-hour movie of Stephen King's "Desperation" rather than watch the finale of "American Idol" -- wouldn't watch that anyway, unless someone was holding a gun to my pointed little head. It was a fine peice of work -- and Stephen himself was most annoyed the suits at ABC put his gem up against the Idol finale.

And that leads to one other noteworthy event for summer viewing - TNT has made a mini-series of his "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" which will air in July.

OK, enough of this attention paid to television. A writer has no place discussing it - or does he??

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:37 PM

    Why be embarrassed to watch or write about Television? Yeah, 90% of what's on it is crap, but as Theodore Sturgeon, a creator in another maligned, misunderstood medium (Science Fiction) said, "..but then, 90% of everything is crap!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. welllll ..... mainly because 90% of it IS crap!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. 90% of me is tired.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 90% of me wants to make it with Naveen Andrews.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 90% of me wants to make it with Josh Holloway and Evangeline Lilly.
    OOps, did I say that out loud.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Josh Holloway... mmmmmmmmmmmm Naveen Andrews....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
    Yum yum yum yum yum
    [10% percent of me is wide awake...]

    ReplyDelete
  7. We DVR'd "Desperation" and watched it this weekend. I'm a self-proclaimed Stephen King nerd... so me saying it was great doesn't really do the justice it deserves.

    Nightmares and Dreamscapes: I've not decided yet if I'm for or against a mini-series. So for now I'm just nervous for him and for the story.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Desperation was good no doubt. So glad that King finally has producers/directors who'll follow him to the nasty, bitter ugly ends of his stories. Ron Perlman was great as the Sheriff.
    And Steve Weber is becoming a King regular too!

    ReplyDelete