Boarding the Plane

This blog has a very simple premise. I loved Lost while it was on the air; I was more into Lost than any other television show I've ever watched. I got the complete series for Christmas, I want to re-watch the show from the beginning, and I thought it would be fun to write about it. Before I begin, almost two years after the show ended, here's what I'm wondering:

Almost all of these episodes, I've only seen once on the original night they aired. Do they hold up? Are they as great as I remember? Are the stinkers (and I'm not so in love with Lost that I can't recognize the stinkers) as bad as I remember?

Now that I know how the series ended, does it all hold together? How much of the show contradicts other parts of the show? How many of the mysteries petered out into nothing?

And what I'm most curious about: Is it possible to recapture the joy I felt while watching the show the first time around? Can I get back that feeling of wonder? Will thinking about the show and all the connections within it take up semi-permanent residence in my brain again?

And so you know the baseline, here's where I'm coming from as it relates to the show:

Favorite characters: Sawyer. Farady. Eko. Ben.

Least favorite characters: Rosseau. Claire.

Favorite episodes: "Walkabout." The season three finale. "The Long Con."

Least favorite episode: The one where we find out about Jack's tattoos.

Favorite season: Season two.

Least favorite season: Season six.

My feelings on the finale: I liked it a lot, but I was disappointed in the last season as a whole. Why did we spend so much time on the flash sideways? It seemed like that whole story could have been told in about five episodes? What was the point of all that time at the temple? When it was all over, it seemed like it all added up to nothing.

These are the kinds of things I hope to discover as I re-watch. Was all that time at the temple a waste? Was Shannon as useless as I remember? Was Sayid really as badass as I've made him out in my head?

I'm not a scholar and I'm not a philosopher. I'm barely even a writer. So don't expect things to get too deep (although they just might, WHO CAN SAY). I'm just here to have some fun with a great TV show.

Oh, and a couple of things I can think of that I'll try to keep a running tally of: How many times does Michael yell "Walt!!" or "I HAVE... to FIND... my SON!"? How many times does a character brag about their tracking skills? How many times does the black and white motif come up? And any more I can think of along the way. Join me, won't you? Namaste!