I enjoyed watching the season premier of Lost the other night. Not much was really pushed forward in terms of the story, but all the major plot points were re-introduced in an entertaining way. The flash-forward conceit works well and I hope it'll continue to drive more of the plot. It was weird to see Lance Reddick, a.k.a. Daniels on The Wire, show up. Reddick did a fine job playing a mysterious character, but I kept expecting him to tell Hurley that the case was going to have to be put on hold cause Major Rawls were breathing down his neck.
The Wire and Lost are the only two current shows I watch with any sort of regularity these days (I'll count Battlestar Galactica if the new season ever starts). They are very different; if I had to look for similarities I'd say they're both about a group of flawed individuals trying to make the best of a bad situation. I probably return to each show because of the characters, but I don't think that's the only reason. We come back to television shows week after week because of the ways the story is propelled forward, and the ways that that's done on these two show are very distinct, and worth thinking about.
Lost's stories are told with very little information. We the viewers (usually along with the characters) are very much in the dark. We don't know what's going on - with the mysterious island, "the others," the coincidences, etc. - and we return to the show primarily to see if we can acquire more information so we can know. We rely on the writers to supply the info in surprising and entertaining ways (we hope that at least they know what's going to happen next). The show is ultimately satisfying, I think, when old mysteries are resolved, for example the identity of "the others," and new, intriguing ones are revealed, like knowing they're getting off the island but wondering how.
The Wire, on the other hand, gives us lots and lots of information (if Lost can be criticized for being too mysterious, The Wire can be called out for being too dense). So much information that, at times, we might wonder why something is being shown to us. The show becomes satisfying when we realize how a random scene from three episodes ago carries so much weight. By the time two characters from different worlds on The Wire suddenly have an interaction, we the viewer usually know more than the characters why that exchange is so important. Having the extra knowledge gives us a unique bird's-eye view on the maze of the plot. When Lost finally concludes, I have no doubt there will be some mysteries we'll never know the answers to. When The Wire finishes, in a few weeks, we'll still be trying to untangle all the connections.
another text entry? do i have the right url here?
i think daniels was about to inform hurley that they only have the funding for 2 insane characters on the show.
nobody knows what we're talking about!