[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Oh Person of Interest is one i was considering starting actually, you recommend then?

regarding Lost,

Spoiler:

I half agree with you about them knowing how they were going to end it. I think they were planning on ending it with them being in purgatory and having all died in the crash but I think they diverted from that because for one everyone figured it out pretty quick and also because they wanted to drag it out alot longer then they'd planned because it got so successful.

One thing that annoyed me was that Temple stuff, what was that all about? And why of all people bring Sayid back from the dead?

Do we really still need spoiler tags for Lost? Anyway...

Spoiler:

I agree that it was probably their plan from the beginning for it to be purgatory but in my opinion, it was obvious from near the beginning (after everyone figured it out) that to keep the suspense they not only decided to steer people away from that conclusion... but actually decided NOT to go in that direction, instead genuinely writing it as science fiction rather than pseudo-religion. And I think while it was on that track, it was actually a better show going in a better direction. Then they couldn't figure out how to conclude it so they THEN said "let's just do the Purgatory thing"... which, tbqfh, after several seasons going in another direction, no longer made much sense at all.

They should either have stuck with the changed direction... or just accepted in the first place that people had figured out the "purgatory" angle and kept with it, exploring the nature of purgatory and what it all means. Who would move on, is it possible to find a way back, the personal journies experienced there, etc...

[Lostie!]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Do we really still need spoiler tags for Lost? Anyway...

Spoiler:

I agree that it was probably their plan from the beginning for it to be purgatory but in my opinion, it was obvious from near the beginning (after everyone figured it out) that to keep the suspense they not only decided to steer people away from that conclusion... but actually decided NOT to go in that direction, instead genuinely writing it as science fiction rather than pseudo-religion. And I think while it was on that track, it was actually a better show going in a better direction. Then they couldn't figure out how to conclude it so they THEN said "let's just do the Purgatory thing"... which, tbqfh, after several seasons going in another direction, no longer made much sense at all.

They should either have stuck with the changed direction... or just accepted in the first place that people had figured out the "purgatory" angle and kept with it, exploring the nature of purgatory and what it all means. Who would move on, is it possible to find a way back, the personal journies experienced there, etc...

Well you never know if someone is planning on starting the show, I'd only feel right talking about the ending without tags in an actual Lost thread

I do get all that tbh, as I say there are gripes I totally agree with but I do also think it gets more flack than it deserves in some regards

Spoiler:

like people saying "Oh they were dead all along" when the finale quite clearly pointed out that they weren't at all. I think there are genuine, valid issues with the show (as you and Niamh have addressed) that sometimes get lost (lol) among a lot of generic moaning about things that aren't actually true because criticising the Lost ending has become a very popular thing to do. Like I zone out as soon as someone says "the Island was Purgatory" or "literally nothing was answered".

But with Westworld they have said they have like 5 seasons mapped out in advance so I like to think they know exactly where they plan on going with it and already know the outcomes to the mysteries they've set up (even if they don't get that far). I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise anyway

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Lostie!

Well you never know if someone is planning on starting the show, I'd only feel right talking about the ending without tags in an actual Lost thread

I do get all that tbh, as I say there are gripes I totally agree with but I do also think it gets more flack than it deserves in some regards

Spoiler:

like people saying "Oh they were dead all along" when the finale quite clearly pointed out that they weren't at all. I think there are genuine, valid issues with the show (as you and Niamh have addressed) that sometimes get lost (lol) among a lot of generic moaning about things that aren't actually true because criticising the Lost ending has become a very popular thing to do. Like I zone out as soon as someone says "the Island was Purgatory" or "literally nothing was answered".

But with Westworld they have said they have like 5 seasons mapped out in advance so I like to think they know exactly where they plan on going with it and already know the outcomes to the mysteries they've set up (even if they don't get that far). I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise anyway

I think the problem with Lost, and a lot of the "earlier" shows with grand concepts and over-arching plots actually, was that they didn't start out with a clear idea of how many seasons they were going to be running for, so they didn't know how to pace the story and ended up having to create "filler content" in the middle, only to then have to slightly rush the final seasons. There are a greater number of shows with these large season-and-whole-show spanning plots these days and they've learned to at least aim for an end date ("We're aiming for 5/6/7 seasons") and they have proper 1st/2nd/3rd "acts" planned. Lost was really one of the first to negotiate that, I believe, it was sort of a big thing when they and the network announced I think in '07(?) that a full deal had been agreed with the network and it was DEFINITELY going to end in 2010... rather than renewals being indefinite hand in hand with ratings which just wouldn't have worked for a show like Lost. It would either have waffled on for years, or been cancelled at short notice with a rushed half-season summing up. Or both! . But they really paved the way for writers planning shows with set lengths, that we often see now.