But, Oh, 'Lost;' How controversial your ending was.
Christians (I am one) all over the country are appalled over the ending to what was more or less the greatest content made-for-television in the history of entertainment. Why? Mostly because, (A) It wasn't 100% biblically-based, and (B), this:
That stinkin' stained glass window. With the cross... along with various symbols from other religions. Seriously. They saw this and thought 'Uh, oh.. what are they going to be pushing?' and then, afterwards, when they saw this fictional (keyword, people!) depiction of the afterlife that didn't have any basis in the Bible, they completely abandoned the show, and decided it was a disappointing, Anti-Christian, bad ending.
Oh, get over it!
Really! Short-sighted people in the Church is something I really do not like. Like a pharisee, they nit-pick and scavenge over every frame of a movie or television show, every page of a book, or every lyric to a song, and if one small thing doesn't line up with the Bible, then 'Uh oh! Satan is surely at work here.'
That was not at all the case for the finale of 'Lost.' I could get much deeper into the spiritual aspects of the show and it's finale, but one of my Pastors, Jerry Davison, said everything I wanted to say and much more on his blog. Click here to read it.
Now, for a more critical look at some of the story-telling, filmmaking, and other non- spiritual aspects of the show.
I adore 'Lost,' but I found myself thinking this morning 'Was it really as good as I think it was?' To be honest, probably not. Whoa, if only I could see the look on your face. I might have just committed the worst blasphemy you'll ever hear, and I apologize, but let me explain.
In a story, you simply must have coherency when it comes to plot, especially if you're going to feature as many characters as 'Lost' did. The fact of the matter is, in retrospect, 'Lost' was kind of a messy show. What started as a story of cast-aways and survival, turned into a retrospective soap opera, ala 'Crash,' which then turned into a waring factions type of story, that moved into a nuclear holocaust/lone scientist tale, which turned into a mysterious evil organization plot, THEN into a time-traveling saga, THEN into a mythology - something that was really kind of out of place over the entire story. How... does that happen?
I imagine if just anyone undertook something like that, they could effectively create the worst thing in television history. However, the producers, writers, and actors did a brilliant job at... somehow... making it work. Of course they made most of it up as they went along (you could just tell sometime) but they were able to inject a certain type of magic into the mix that held it all together; Characters.
In a movie, story, or in this case, television show, if your characters are stereotypical, unrelateable, unapproachable, or just plain 'flat' (I'm talking to you, 'Avatar.'), then you end up with a crappy product. The vast array of characters and just life in each of the individuals on the show was extraordinary. Think about this - what other television show out there has 50+ characters whom you remember all their names? It's the love and story the writers and producers put into each one of them that carried us through the bizarre world of survival, scientific initiative, time-travel, magic, mythology, love triangles and polar bears. They made it work, and they held the show together.
All-in-all, looking back, 'Lost' was, indeed, kind of messy. You give us mysteries we believe you'll answer, but leave us in the dark for the sake of lack of interest... but 'Lost' is probably the best thing I've ever seen (or will see) on television. We will surely miss you, oh my 'Lost.'
Namaste.
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