Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof says greedy network programming weasels prevent television shows from satisfying endings.
“The reality is,” Lindelof says, “that Carlton, myself, J.J. (co-creator J.J. Abrams), the creative brains behind the ‘Lost’ universe, we could all band together and say, ‘We’re ending the show after three seasons because that’s the arc. They get off the island, and we reveal all the things we want to reveal.’
“And the network would say, ‘No, you won’t.’ They will hire somebody and do ‘Lost,’ with or without you…
“If you’re watching the show because you’re waiting for the big answers to come, you have to understand that by the nature of what it is - it’s not a movie, it’s not a series of movies, it’s not a trilogy, it’s not a miniseries - it’s going to be on the air for as long as ABC wants to keep it on the air.”
“How can you ever possibly think that ‘Lost’ will end in a satisfying way? Carlton and I can almost guarantee you that it will not.”
And so we come to the sad reality of the American television series:
- Characters don’t grow.
- Last episode’s lessons are never remembered.
- No matter how messed up things are at the beginning of an episode everything will be back to normal next week.
- Dead horses will be severely beaten.
- The best shows are designed to jerk you around.
I think the Asians have got TV programming down. Their series run for maybe 12-16 episodes. You may never see those characters again, but you’re left satisfied because the stories have a beginning, middle and end. Their characters are changed by the events of the story.
TV weasels, please: Just give me a good five seasons and I’ll be satisfied. How long will your favorite one hour drama run?
Virginia Daily Press: ‘Lost’ creators warn viewers not to expect the impossible - a conclusion
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