The Four Toed Statue
I’m finally caught up with LOST. I don’t have a lot of time to sit and watch TV these days, but being sick and having no energy to do anything but watch TV made it all possible.
My favorite shows that are on right now are probably LOST and House MD; the mourning period I spent after The Sopranos ended is now more or less over. When that show ended, TV was pretty much dead to me. It was like seeing a carnival on the side of the road after your beloved carney uncle had died. Everyone in there looks like they’re having fun, eating cracker jack and riding the rides, but out of respect for your small-handed, cabbagey uncle, you stay away.
The thing that TV does extremely well is developing a relationship between characters and the viewer. Over the seasons a good TV show collects knicknacks and doodads, building up an investment between the two groups. Think of The Simpsons’ basement filled with all the souvenirs of past episodes. The Olmec head, etc.. TV has the time to do that. That’s the beauty of a serial form of story telling.
LOST is full of stuff like that. My favorite is that damn Four Toed Statue. Will its backstory ever be revealed? With the imminent end of the series penned out, is there even enough time for that? Or is it just a fun mystery that will never be solved but will be argued over forever?
Along these lines: If you haven’t seen this great TED talk, here’s JJ Abrams on the power of mystery boxes.
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