>I AM. Yes I know it
>is somewhat important to the
>storyline but could they not
>do so many please. You
>are just getting excited about
>something happening on the island
>when all of a sudden..............FLASHBACK
>TIME.

....let me guess, you were also one of the people complaining after episode #1 that they spent too much time in the hatch and no time on the "others". And then in ep #2 you were mad that they went back and showed the hatch stuff again from different POV's instead of moving onto a new story.

Damn do I hate posts like this...imo, people who feel this way shouldn't even be watching this show. They don't have the capacity to appreciate how great this show is.

Hers is some advice for ya...stop watching Lost, go watch CSI instead...you'll be happy to know that each hour comes with a nice and tidy ending to whatever mystery was raised during that episode.

So don't take the simple fact that I think Shakes is godlike to mean that I think he isn't an ass. -Samiam 10/12/04

And now some advice for you. It works both ways, if you don't care for my post, then don't reply to it. Have a good day.

Hi Shakes. Long time lurking fan of your work.

Slice and Dice Chop Shop 2005

Now that you mention it, I did find myself wanting to fast forward through the flashbacks last night. It's not so much that I'm disinterested in the background info, but I'm so totally into the present time that I want to know what's going on. It's almost like I think I'm missing out on something during the flashback stuff. Plus, I really don't like Locke with hair. He was so wimpy!

I wasn't that excited by Jack's flashback in the season premier, because I didn't think it added much to what we already knew. BUT I LOVED last night's flashback.

There is still so much more of Locke to find out. I can't wait to see what happens with Helen & how he ends up paralyzed & when he finally makes his "faith" awakening & lets go of the anger. Need more Locke flashbacks.

I really think the flashbacks are making the show in trying to piece together who everyone is & how they may be connected, what is the common thread that has them on this island. If they focused solely on the main happenings on the island itself -- who are the others, what is the possible creature -- the show would run itself out too quickly.

Long story short, me like the flashbacks & want more.

I love the flashbacks. Yes I get frustrated when I'm interested in what is going on and they switch to a flashback. But isn't that normal? On episode 2 I wanted to know what was going on in the hatch, but I also wanted to know what was going on with M/S in the water and was frustrated whenever they switched from one to the other. But the great thing with Lost is that whatever they switch to is usually interesting and you usually learn something from it. Sometimes you learn more from the flashbacks than you do from life on the island.

But what really frustrates me is how many people cannot wait for the answers. That seems to be the norm on other boards, but not as much on this one. Speculating on what the answers are is what makes the show so much fun. Like Shakes says, if you don't want to wait for answers, watch CSI. That is why I don't usually watch shows like CSI. I don't like a story tied up neatly every hour. I want to keep the show with me.

This is a fun show. Enjoy the story as it unfolds because when it is over, you'll wish it was just starting.

I love the flashbacks. In Season 1 they gave us a initial history of the characters but now they are filling in the blanks and bringing us closer to take off.

And we all know to look for clues during the flashbacks, I'm constantly watching the backgrounds for other characters, animals, numbers,etc.

Just a quick note about Katey Sagel. I now realize that I am a victim of pop-culture. I no longer see Peg Bundy, but rather I hear Leela.

Slice and Dice Chop Shop 2005

I totally disagree. THe flashbacks/backstory are, IMO, the best part of the show!

"somewhat important to the storyline" Somewhat??? Without them, we'd know next to nothing about these characters. None of their actions would make any sense without the backstory. We'd know nothing about the numbers, nothing about why Sawyer is so angry, and the list goes on and on. The backstory is brilliant, and without it, this show would suck.

I doubt there is anyone on the board that I agree with on every single issue. Well, except true - all right-thinking people always agree with true. -Executive Princess Pooh

I like the flashback to a point! I agree with the original poster that sometimes you'll be really getting into something happening on the island when BAM! you'll get a 20 min flashback... Both my hubby and I (avid fans of the show) mentioned this Weds night... We'd like to see a better mix of present and past shown...

P.S. Just because someone doesn't agree with our opinions, that doesn't mean they don't "deserve" to watch this show! One person's opinions don't make the world go 'round! If it did, this world would be a very boring place!

http://www.geocities.com/craftscrochetnmore/index.htm

I have nothing else to add, except to mention the thing I am tired of: Folks complaining about this show. It's the best on TV and 2nd place isn't anywhere close.

Those who think we haven't learned anything with the flashbacks aren't paying attention.

Fester

I agree. I liked the flashbacks in the first season. I don't like them now. Filler, I call 'em, pure filler.

Moves courtesy of Syren

LAST EDITED ON 10-07-05 AT 01:15 PM (EST)

The show isn't a "Push, Nevada" type experiment. It's not a "mystery" that we all need to solve. It's a drama (with comic elements) about people and characters.

Lost producers acknowledge a smaller, vocal fan base deeply interested in "cult" aspects of the show, but they say the show's huge audience — it was last week's third-most-watched program with 23.2 million viewers — indicates broader interest. The writers seek balance, executive producer Damon Lindelof says.

Although the producers are interested in advancing the mysteries of the island, "the real story we're trying to tell is about the people," Lindelof says. "We attribute (the large audience) to the fact that people are really watching the characters, so we try to focus on that.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-10-04-lost-inside_x.htm
(That's the article Elaine0 linked in her post on page one.)

The show is a character-driven program first and a mystery, complex plot-line, thriller-esque "cult" program second. I'm not going to be one of those "If you don't like the flashbacks, then don't watch the program" kind of people, but really, this is a very character driven show, those that don't like it will likely need to resign themselves to it, because the writers and producers have no plans to change the formula.

(And, not surprisingly, I'm rather glad for it, too. I started watching this show for Hurley's wit, Sawyer's charm, Sun's secret, a desire to know why Jin was so controlling, a desire to know if Charlie would kick his habit, and a desire to see the baby Claire was carrying born. Not for the hatch, the polar bears, the black shadow or the French woman. Certainly, they make this show compelling and unique, but they are not why I watched, or why I continue to watch. I watch to see if Charlie will stay clean, if Michael and Walt will ever form the bond a father and son should have, and if Hurley will make me actually laugh out loud with his smart-ass comments. The mystery element is great, and I, too, wanted to know what was in the hatch, what the numbers mean, and what was meant by "security system," but lots of shows have complex plots and mysteries, and I watch none of them. Just this one, with it's its amazing characters.)

First of all, I like the flashbacks. I am beginning to wonder, however, if the characters/flashbacks are not the WHOLE show rather than 'characters and mystery'! We went through season 1 with question after question being raised (the hatch, the lottery #s, Claire's baby, Walts psychic(?) powers, etc.) and no answers. Season 2 seems to be a repeat of Season 1's question after question being raised. When will we see some DEFINITIVE answers (so the hatch was raised -- we get another question/mystery!)? And although Lost is my favorite show, some of the brilliance is dimming with the 'borrowing' from other shows/movies that the writers are doing. Claire's baby is a nod to Rosemary's Baby (producers said that in a TV Guide interview). Now Desmond is saying they will all die if he doesn't finagle with his 'stuff' in the hatch in a set time day after day, ad nauseum (people are guessing the world will blow up if he doesn't calibrate something or the lottery #s aren't typed on the computer, whatever, every 108 minutes). This is straight out of "Needful Things", an old Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode!!! All this borrowing ideas and themes from other shows/movies also makes me not so certain the writers have a clear, coherent possible-finale in mind as they churn out the episodes. And if they don't, where's the fun in 'guessing' a solution to the island, about the interlinking of the characters? No definitive answers to ANYTHING, EVER, along with continuously raising new mysteries/questions AND borrowing story ideas from different, non-related movies, is not going to cut it.

Give me the flashbacks, lay off other people's work (Rosemary's Baby, Needful Things, and whatever else) and give me some answers -- at least one, for pete's sake! this season!!.

I don't think that what the producers and writers on Lost are doing can be considered out and out "borrowing" (with or without the derogatory quotes.

Nods are more what they are, which you said, and I don't think it's possible to write a script (or a short story, or a play, or a newspaper article) that hasn't already been written. The difference comes in your presentation, your technique, the way you lead from one thought to the next. That's where the talent is. The Lost people do this really well, so even though we have seen "could be the end of the world unless they X" before, we haven't seen it like this.

Did you know that Star Wars "borrowed" a lot, too? Flash Gordon was a huge inspiration, and even samurai movies influenced the script, characters and specific scenes. Often producers and writers will call for the scene to be shot in a very specific way, to make us recall another director who often employed that technique, or as a simple nod to a favorite of their own.

I don't think it's stealing. When it comes down to it, this show is well made and interesting, and yes, even fresh (Rosemary's baby? Really? Needful things? They just don't compare.) just like Star Wars was.

And the little side mysteries about the characters: I don't think they are really so much mysteries as cliffhangers (with the numbers exception, which is obviously a major plot point) that will resume or be expanded on the next time that character has an episode.

Just an addendum: I see where they're saying the producers of Lost read the message boards. If it is true and you're reading this Mr. Producer: Please, please, please do NOT let Walt find a cookbook on the island entitled "How to Serve Humans". Please!

It is one thing to give a 'nod' to another's work; it quite a different thing to 're-write' another's script. The nod to Rosemary's Baby was cute. And complimentary. Before I even read the TV Guide article, I had already told someone that the Claire's baby theme reminded me of Rosemary's Baby. When the TV Guide article came out, I got bragging rights from it!

Needful Things, however, is a different story. The writers took the EXACT SAME idea of a human being responsible for keeping the world from blowing up by fidgeting with gadgets at appointed times during the day (thinking about it, I'm not sure that is the correct title - but the story starred Burgess Meredith and it was the exact same premise). This is not a complimentary 'nod' to another writer. This is stealing another writer's idea! So you have a different locale (a hatch instead of a room) and different character names. It's the same premise!

Star Wars 'nodded' to its predecessors. I defy anyone to point to anything in Star Wars that is in any way reminiscent of Flash Gordon! The only thing they have is common is their genre - space pictures. Lucas 'nodded' to the unnamed sammauri pictures. To my knowledge, he did not take a 'story' and add 200 more pages to it! (Desmond acted EXACTLY like Burgess Meredith in the purloined storyline - running around the hatch like a chicken with its head cut off trying to save the world from blowing up. Exact same chicken-running as Burgess, exact same manic expression on his face as on Burgess', exact same end result - the world is saved for one more day! Only one difference - Burgess' film was done pre-computer, so he used a clock).