WHEN TV ECLIPSES THE MOVIES: a tribute to "Lost"

...And now it is finished.

Last night, the world saw the outstanding and soul shaking conclusion to "Lost," one of the most groundbreaking serialized television programs of the 21st century and in every conceivable way, I was enormously satisfied. At this time, I wanted to take a few moments to pay tribute to this television series that captured my imagination and spirit for the previous six years. Now, dear readers, you may be wondering why I am going to spend time writing about a TV show on Savage Cinema. I will explain shortly, asking you to understand that there is a connection. However, I will tell you that as I ponder everything that I saw last night, it still amazes me that for a time, I almost did not even watch this show and I only, and graciously, have my wife to thank for steering me towards it. Maybe like the island itself, it called to me and I was meant to watch it!

Six years ago, I remember the intrigue I felt when I first saw the advertisements depicting a new television series set on an island, featuring a large cast of characters who had been shipwrecked somehow. The only familiar faces to me where the ones of Matthew Fox (previously from "Party Of Five") and Dominic Monaghan (whom I was happy to see had found new work after "The Lord Of the Rings" trilogy), uttering his now iconic phrase, "Guys, where are we?" Despite my curiosity, I kept telling myself that I just did not want to get myself involved with any new series and that it would be better for me if I did not watch it at all.

On the night of its premiere in September 2004, I actually happened to not be home--either pleasantly out with a friend or miserably engulfed within a school staff meeting. Upon returning home, my wife greeted me with the vehement admonition, "YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS SHOW!!!!"

"Was it really that good?" I asked.

"YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS SHOW!!!!" she said again, even more emphatically.

Fortunately for me, the ratings for the premiere went through the roof and the network repeated the two hour premiere that very weekend. Still not desiring the vortex of a new program to get myself involved with, I somewhat reluctantly sat down to watch.

"Lost" began six years ago with a shot of an eye suddenly opening, gradually revealing the body of a man, lying on his back in a field of bamboo staring up at the sky. Over the course of the following ten minutes or so, we are as disoriented as this man as he discovers himself upon an island after a horrific plane crash. He races from one wounded victim to another through a cacophony of sights and sounds, all presented with a level of such intensely gripping visual heft, that after those first ten minutes, I said out loud to my wife," This is better than most movies!!" I was immediately hooked, previous trepidation be damned.

From there, we are formally introduced to the man with the newly opened eyes as Dr. Jack Shephard (beautifully played by Fox), and our strange, lengthy, difficult, sometimes frustrating and at times furiously harrowing and tragic odyssey has officially begun. As you all know by now, "Lost" began with the cataclysmic mid-air destruction of flight Oceanic 815 and subsequent crash onto a mystical island housed somewhere in the South Pacific. We are introduced to a diverse cast of survivors including, along with the good doctor, a fugitive, a con man, a married Korean couple, a previously estranged Father and son, a young pregnant woman, a drug addicted rock musician, and most notably, a paraplegic who now has regained the usage of his legs among others.

As the survivors attempt to find their collective ways back home, "Lost" dove tailed into a myriad of mysteries that delved into a dense, deeply convoluted and epic morality tale. Utilizing concepts and story lines depicted through intensely detailed and heartbreakingly emotional character flashbacks and flashforwards, "Lost" featured time travel, quantum physics, mysticism, mythology, as well as a hefty dose of biblical allegory mixed with spiritual and philosophical debates concerning fate, destiny, free will, reason, science, faith and mortality. Yet, what grounded the series from the very beginning was its emotional core via its commitment to the inner lives of the characters, an assortment of lost souls before their plane crash, now on their own respective roads to redemption or damnation. And without any disregards to all of the brilliantly executed head spinning questions and concepts, what kept me coming back to this program was my devotion to these characters, their pasts, their developments and their futures. And again, many, many, many times over the course of this six year series, I said to myself, "This is better than most movies!!"

Last night's finale, entitled "The End," was a masterful achievement. If this were a theatrical movie, it would easily garner four stars and earn a spot as one of the best films of the year from me. It had it all! From an epic clash of good vs. evil, to piercingly intimate moments where you could not help but to find lumps in the throat followed by tears flowing down your cheeks, the final episode of "Lost" spoke to the heart and the soul while being consistently pulse pounding and supremely haunting.

Without going into plot descriptions and remaining SPOILER FREE for the benefit of those who have not seen the finale as of yet, I will say that it reminded me in many ways of how I felt about the conclusions to both "Star Wars" trilogies, the final installment of the Harry Potter book series as well as the conclusions to both the book and film versions of "The Lord Of The Rings." The series finale of "Lost" left me wanting for nothing and concluded every thread of its massive amount of story lines in the most honest, emotionally wrenching and satisfying way. It was a definitive ending which brought the complete series full circle while also leaving room for interpretations. It was an episode, and ultimately a series, to cherish, savor, re-visit, and remember. And again, this finale proved that at its best, "Lost" is better than most movies being released week to week in our cinemas these days.

When a television program of this caliber ends, like "The Wire," David Simon's unbelievably extraordinary five year Dickensian series for HBO, the remainder of what is actually shown on television looks depressingly trite. "Lost" is a series in the same caliber as "The Wire" as week to week, the actors, writers, producers, directors and everyone else behind the scenes worked at the peak of their collective talents to deliver the very best television could possibly offer on a consistent basis. It pushed the medium forward while delivering the best of classic storytelling. Certainly there are aspects of TV that cannot be duplicated in film, most notably having the luxury of taking hundreds of hours to develop characters and stories instead of a motion picture's two or three hour limitations. Aside from that, the commitment to storytelling should be the same for both mediums.

What I would hope is for current filmmakers and screenwriters to take the time to study a series like "Lost" and witness how filmmaker J.J. Abrams, program head writers and executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carleton Cuse and the show's full artistic staff constructed and weaved their deeply imaginative fabric to create a program that was downright literary. "Lost" transcended its own science fiction and mythological genres to plunge straight into the viewer's heart and speak directly to the human condition, our spiritual beliefs and questions and hopes for what may lie beyond the world as we know it. In some ways, "The End" also reminded me of the brilliant 2008 film "Synecdoche, New York" from Writer/Director Charlie Kaufman, as it forced me to think of the very issues I would rather not think about. But, it did so in a way that filled me with a hope of the utmost bittersweetness. It was a luscious sorrow, A gorgeous melancholy. A painfully beautiful sweep of feeling that only this series could deliver so handsomely.

I hope this series is nominated again for a collection of Emmy Awards, with acting nominations especially for Fox and Terry O'Quinn (who portrayed the once wheelchair bound and tragic man of faith, John Locke), whose joint battle of wills was the centerpiece of the series as a whole. But, beyond the awards, I sincerely hope that new viewers discover this series and watch it from beginning to end and see that when television wants to get it right, they can do it to the level where it becomes an artistic expression of the highest order.

Now, I will not recount my favorite memories from this series for they are too many in quantity. Are you kidding me???? I have to spout out a few! In addition to those very first ten minutes of the pilot...

1. The opening of the hatch.
2. The capture of Walt.
3. The numbers....
4. The aching love stories of Sun & Jin, Sawyer & Juliet, Desmond & Penny, Hurley & Libby, Daniel Farraday & Charlotte and even Bernard & Rose
5. Dharma in the 1970s
6. Hurley's enormous heart
7. The sound of the smoke monster
8. Michael Giacchino's elegiac music score
9. The sacrifices of Charlie, Sawyer and Sayid
10. Jughead's explosion

...and so much, much more...

I must say that due to the dense and nearly impenetrable nature of the series, I was unsure if I actually wanted to sift through it all over again. But, I have to say that after last night's finale and seeing an ending this complete, I am compelled to watch it all over again.

Was every single episode perfect? No. Some did indeed drag their feet while other episodes prolonged frustration as I just wanted to have some answers. And there was one time-waster of an episode as it was inconsequential to the series as a whole. But, just when I was at the point of giving up, there would be yet another home run that made me say again and again, "This is better than most movies!!!" Now having seen the entire series, start to finish, and having the knowledge not present during the initial run, perhaps the series can been seen with newly opened eyes, giving the series an even more profound depth. I have already re-watched that very first episode, nearly six years after having seen it the first time and I was amazed at how many elements were conceptually in place from Day 1!

What a GIGANTIC hole "Lost" has left for all of us who do indeed watch television. And what an equally GIGANTIC lesson it is for filmmakers who churn out cinematic garbage for too much of the calendar year. What a shame it is for people blessed with the gifts, means and opportunity to create works that we end up regretting spending our hard-earned money on...especially when, over the last six years, you could receive the high quality of "Lost" for FREE!

For now, I save my vitriol and produce only grace as I deeply thank all involved for "Lost." Thank you for producing a series that not only entertained greatly but greatly spoke to our collective humanity. We all have our own islands to travel, be tested by, be vanquished by and to conquer in life. The journey of Jack Shephard and all of the passengers of flight Oceanic 815 was one to behold and in the end, I was so deeply moved and forever changed by it.

I wonder how and when television can recover from this loss! "Lost," including its profoundly exceptional finale, was indeed better than most movies and I wish, most of all, for movies to catch up and reach the bar that this television program has so dramatically raised.