Salon: Serial-Drama Zen - "Lost," "24" Welcome Us Into Their Comfortingly Stupid Nowhere Lands

[Hissyspit]

SATURDAY, FEB 27, 2010 19:01 EST

Zen and the art of serial-drama maintenance
"Lost," "24" welcome us into their comfortingly stupid nowhere lands

BY HEATHER HAVRILESKY

On the small screen, anything is possible: The hooker can have a heart of gold, the cloud can have a silver lining, the tunnel can have a light at the end of it. In real life, the tunnel is dark, the cloud dumps rain for days, and the hooker is indifferent and has Chlamydia.

No wonder we turn to our televisions for novelty, to see if the lovely downhill skier weeps tears of joy or disappointment, to find out if the patient's heart surgery saves his life or kills him, to discover if the castaways live happily ever after, or spend another week wandering through the jungle, searching for more clues.

If your life is stable, it's hard not to experience its details as predictable, if not a little mundane. If your life is unstable, it's hard not to experience its twists and turns as dismaying instead of entertaining or suspenseful. You're too close to enjoy yourself.

So you mumble distractedly to your co-workers and your family all day long, then weep openly for the fictional heart patient on your TV screen at night.

- snip -

What's interesting to me these days is that I still find myself addicted to shows that I have no emotional stake in whatsoever.

Take "24." Last Tuesday Jack was tortured yet again, the week before that Renee stabbed a man in the eyeball, and yet, there I am, calmly taking it all in, wondering how the writers are going to pull themselves out of this junk heap that they set out for themselves at the beginning of the season.

- snip -

Because the writers of "Lost" are a lot like John Locke, who keeps brattily insisting that no one should be able to tell him what he can and can't do. And look, they're right, because the more ridiculous things get, the more people try to make sense of the ridiculousness. If reading this gigantic list of theories about "Lost" doesn't make your head hurt -- and no, not because it's an elaborate, thoughtful riddle, but because it's a big, jumbled mess of interconnected nothingness -- then you have a lot more patience for chaos that can only end badly (like life itself, dude!) than I do.

No, no, say the show's die-hard fans, it all adds up to pure brilliance, with numbers and mirrors and alternate realities! But ask any actual screenwriter or fiction writer or seasoned storyteller, and he or she will agree: There is no glorious final answer that can justify pulling a deus ex machina out of your ass every other episode.

- snip -

Look, there is actually a difference between an elaborate, multitiered maze created by a mathematical genius and an enormous, tangled mess of scrap metal dumped there by someone who read a few Wikipedia entries on chaos theory and quantum mechanics and thought they were seriously cool. When thousands of people are picking through the scraps while playing make-believe that they're in some wise and complex microcosm filled with deeper meaning?

Well ... it's strangely fascinating, isn't it? To watch, week after week, as the world scrambles and strains to sift through a junk heap? And to think, without the Internets, we'd never have such a front row seat to the ease with which the populace is drawn into a giant narrative roach motel.

Addictive, silly, and yet, oddly calming. It's not a guilty pleasure because there's no guilt and even less pleasure. Like staring into a washing machine as it spins, the repetitive nothingness of "24," "Lost" and so much of current popular media and culture offers a means of coaxing us out of our rage and disempowerment and into a state of soothing indifference.

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[zeemike]

1. that was interisting....thanks for posting it Hissyspit.

It helps keep me informed.
I don't have TV to speak of....only one channel and it is FOX....so my TV sees mostly Netflix movies. And then they are mostly documentaries or history or old movies and independent films.
I have figured out what the problem is with the new media.....it is all about violence in some form or the other and explosions, gun battles, and lots of car chases....and most of the sceans are only a few seconds long and contain nothing for you to think about.
If you want content and something that stimulates the mind forget Hollywood and TV....you have to go to independent films or back in time.

[SpiralHawk]

2. Gigadittoes, zeemike

Oooodles of mindless, violent crap on TV and film - it is truly soul polluting. That and the steady beat of corporate right-wing propaganda, and most modern corporate media is total shit...

[ShamelessHussy]

5. no teeVee for me, either

it's netflix and the internet, for me too. I lived abroad for 5 years which helped break me of my bad habits and gave me a wider perspective on life. When I came back home I could not believe the junk on tv, especially what passes as news, yuk.

:hi:

[zeemike]

23. The great benefit in Netflix is the ability to select from history.

I have gone back to some old movies that I always wanted to see but could not, and discovered the wealth that is the BBC and foreign programing.
No I don't miss it at all.

[Touchdown]

12. The author simplifies one of the Tv shows she hates.

I've never watched 24, so I can't say how accurate she is on that one, but as a person who has seen every LOST episode...most of them twice, It's a lot richer than she's making it out to be. Yes, it's absurd, but so is Alice In Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz, and those are classics. Absurdity that is engaging and addictive. And I've found no character development that is richer on any TV show since St. Elsewhere.

[zeemike]

21. Well I have never seen Lost ether, so I can't say.

But what ai have noticed about movies as well as TV is that the scenes are short....just a few seconds at most, and mostly about violence.
And I think that this is what keeps our children entertained...short bursts of excitement and violence that is always justified. But it also shortens there attention span and so the ability to think clearly.

[Warren DeMontague]

41. You're talking about a multi-season show with a ridiculous number of long-running plot threads

that you've admittedly "never seen", yet you somehow feel qualified to weigh in on.

I think most of the criticisms of "Lost" don't have to do with short bursts of attention span-shortening excitement, they have to do with convoluted, ridiculously complex plot threads that don't always make sense and are almost impossible to keep track of.

[zeemike]

43. I was not commenting on Lost but TV and media in general

And in fact did not even know there was a show named Lost until I read it here.

[Warren DeMontague]

44. Okay, which shows do you actually watch, that you're basing your comments on?

Just curious. There's a lot of "media in general" out there, these days. I almost never used to watch tv, because it mostly sucked... but in the last decade or so the content has gotten a great deal more interesting IMHO.

I still don't watch much of the big networks. I prefer the science channel, discovery channel, history channel, nat'l geographic channel mostly.

But I'm wondering what you're basing your 'media in general' generalization on, if not the shows mentioned in the OP. (One of which I've never watched, myself)

[zeemike]

47. Well I had direct TV about 5 years ago.

But I dumped it and now have one chanel on Antana....a Fox chanel
But when I did have direct tv I too enjoyed the same things you did....the history channel and such....but once you have seen a few that month offered it was over....then there was only CNN to watch or some crappy shit. and I found myself wearing out the remote control trying to find something interesting.
so I have seen 24 but never a whole program because I cannot stand the noise for one....there is always screaming and gunshots and explosions and most of all the not so subtle implanting of the idea that to keep us safe the hero must torture and break the law to do it.

Now I still can see the history channel and science programing and the BBC by just putting it on my Netflix que. I found DVDs great because you can pause them or rewind and watch again something that is interisting....and as a bonus Fox news does not get to count me as a subscriber.

[Warren DeMontague]

49. I've never watched "24", never plan to. But there is some interesting stuff on tv these days.

I like 'Mad Men' on AMC, for instance. I was a kid during that time, so the period details really ring true. And the writing is pretty good. "Lost" is a guilty pleasure, at this point for me (as for a lot of people) I think the main attraction is "how the hell are they going to wrap all this up, if at all?".

I stopped watching Cable "Newz" during the run-up to the 2004 election. Couldn't take it anymore.

[Edweird]

3. IMHO 'Lost' is dumb and pointless.

I can't be in a room where it's on, it bothers me that much. "Theories" - you have got to be kidding me.


'24'is also super stupid as well. The suspension of belief toll is way too high.

[FSogol]

4. +1. n/t

[KittyWampus]

6. I tried watching Lost a couple of times and always felt like I'd dropped bad acid.

[Edweird]

8. I see 'Lost' and 'American Idle' as evidence that 'Idiocracy' was a little too accurate.

We are *THIS* close to 'Ow my balls!'.

[Touchdown]

13. I 'm curious how you can compare those two

One is a drama and the other is a contest show... and then compare them both to the simplistic point in a one joke movie that's not nearly as brilliant as people say it is...well, just makes me curious.

[Edweird]

18. Hey, don't mind me. Enjoy your shows. You have lots of company.

[Touchdown]

30. So you can't compare the two.

... you're just talking out of your ass. That's cool.

[Edweird]

42. I can.

American Idol.
What a complete waste of effort. It's glorified karaoke, for crying out loud. While voice training is essential if you are a singer, the ability to mimic others isn't a sign of talent. Furthermore, in the real world, if you give a record executive a demo that shows a 'wide range' (like what's expected of the 'contestants'" it ends up in the trash bin immediately. Who wants to hear R&B from a rock band? Nobody. If you are a country singer, sing country.
The show is a joke. It's a second rate ripoff of 'the gong show', which was infinitely better for the sole reason that the participants had ORIGINAL MATERIAL. 'The Gong Show' wasn't even that great, it just didn't suck as bad as this. American idol has a bunch of Michael Bolton wannabee's.

Lost.
Lost is like catching a pathological liar in a lie, and watching them attempt to lie their way out of it with each lie becoming more and more bizarre, until time travel is involved. It's pointless and meandering, to the point of being ridiculous. What makes it even more laughable are the pretensions of high mindedness. "Theories" - give me a break. ait, lemme guess... "You just don't 'get it'". Yeah, I 'get it'. It's dumb. It's a waste of time.

Now you're gonna get all sensitive and try to 'prove' that my OPINIONS are wrong. Which is impossible, since they are my OPINIONS. I'm not passing judgment on you, but on tv shows I don't like.

[Touchdown]

46. I have no need to try and prove anything to you

I asked your opinion. Thank you for it.

[MattBaggins]

24. I for one can't wait till "ow my balls" debuts.

[ThomWV]

7. Well, there's at least one god-awful stupid statement in the article

You should have included a link. but that's OK, it will be easy to find. I look forward to reading the full article but just one line in the part above really jumped out at me - its pure nonsense - and here it is:

Because the writers of "Lost" are a lot like John Locke, who keeps brattily insisting that no one should be able to tell him what he can and can't do"

That is about as bad a representation of Locke's writing as could be imagined.

[donco6]

10. True. The whole point of the episode was his recog that he CAN'T do everything. n/t

[Mendocino]

14. I don't watch Lost but

I believe the John Locke the OP is referring to is a character on the show and not the celebrated writer and philosopher.

[ThomWV]

16. Ooops! Please excuse my ignorance - I had no idea, never seen the show either

I'm sorry, please excuse my ignorance, I have read John Locke, but I had not seen the Television show with a character of that name. Dam me.

[Mendocino]

25. Where all is but a dream,

reasoning and arguments are of no use, truth and knowledge nothing.-John Locke

[Hissyspit]

26. And please forgive me for not including the link:

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/lost/index.html?story=/ent/tv/heather_havrilesky/2010/02/27/24_lost_hypnotic_nowhereland

[donco6]

9. You could say the same thing about DU

And yet, here we all are.

[KittyWampus]

11. well, we occasionally get Resolution with a Tombstone or post from Skinner

:)

OH! And then there's the newest interactive feature known as the "Unrecommend/Recommend" button. }(

[donco6]

31. Yes, the gods intervene from time to time, I suppose.

And there is the popularity contest to factor in . . . you are correct.

[conscious evolution]

15. Hollywood dreams

are just that-someone elses dream.Or is it a nightmare?
Why do so many shows last about as long as a dream?I have always wondered why that is.

[Touchdown]

17. Heather seems to be suffering from REO Speedwagon syndrome.

In order to bolster her credentials as a serious culture vulture, she chooses two top rated television dramas, takes a cursory glance at a couple of episodes each and breaks them apart with her sophomoric prose. She gets the gets the characters she tears down wrong, which makes it painfully obvious she doesn't have a clue as to what she is criticizing.

Snooty dilettantes come out of the woodwork to nip at the heels of any successful pop culture icon, be it Titanic, Hi Infidelity, Duran Duran, Back to the Future or Forrest Gump, to prove their cultural superiority. In the end, they criticize what is popular, and they would be nothing without that what is popular. It's ironic that Heather chose the words "giant narrative roach motel" in her silly prose. For all her pretense, she is still just a parasite.

[Hissyspit]

27. What is the term for the syndrome for automatically attacking critics? I am under the impression

that she has watched MANY if not all of the episodes, and she's trying to understand her own behavior. I apologize for not including the link to the article so that you can understand her entire argument:

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/lost/index.html?story=/ent/tv/heather_havrilesky/2010/02/27/24_lost_hypnotic_nowhereland

[Touchdown]

29. The term is called recognizing poseurs.

Her argument is understandable in just what you pasted. She's not that deep.

[Warren DeMontague]

39. Great fun watching 'em try to out-snoot each other over something like "Avatar"

I'm ancillarily connected to some hollywood people who run in indie film circles... as much as I respect some of their work, the predictability of their reaction to Avatar just made me laugh.

Yes, yes, if the great unwashed Merkin masses like it, we are obligated to tell everyone how much it sucks, just to keep our cred.. :eyes:

[no limit]

19. Well it is entertainment and what is written in the OP can be said about most movies/tv shows

[high density]

20. 24 is exceptionally bad this season

And I say that knowing all previous seasons have been mediocre at best. It has really become one of those shows I watch simply for the hope it will get better, but it never does.

I'm only still with "Lost" because it's ending this season. If they hadn't announced that, I probably wouldn't have bothered with the previous season or this one. It had an excellent premise and fairly strong first season. After that though it was clear the writers didn't really have any idea where to go on an episode-by-episode basis. Last season was absolutely absurd.

[Papa Boule]

22. Same thing happened with the Battlestar Galactica remake

n/t

[Codeine]

36. Man, that show crawled right up its own ass. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

40. I liked it.

I enjoyed it all the way through to the end. :shrug:

[chrisa]

34. Yeah. This year is really forgettable. Rehashed. The writers

are clearly afraid to get away from their formula, which has been stale since season 4. Season 7 was a breath of fresh air, but they're really screwing up again and fell into their same old habits.

[liberal_at_heart]

28. okay so it's not her cup of tea. Does she have to insult those who like it?

and no Lost does not lull me into not being angry about healthcare or the wars in Iraq and Afganistan or any of the other problems this country faces. It's just an entertaining show.

[RadiationTherapy]

32. LOST is truly remarkable storytelling.

However it all plays out, the way the writers show and conceal aspects of the plot and characters is excellent. Tantalizing, really.

[Retrograde]

33. We'll have to agree to disagree

I'm addicted to Lost even though I think the writing, characterization and plot development are sophomoric at best. I find all the flash-everywhichway episodes the dramatic equivalent of musical vamping until it's time for something to start.

It started off promising, I thought, with the whole premise of a group of strangers trying to survive, and as long as it focused mainly on the characters with just a touch of weirdness it was interesting. But the standard American TV format IMHO ruined it: it got renewed, and to justify the renewal it had to have more, more, more - so they kept bringing in more characters and taking the action off the island. I still watch since I'm slightly interested in finding out how they're going to explain everything as the show plods its way to a conclusion, but when this season opened with yet another group on the island that no one had seen before my expectations hit the floor.

Now supposed Lost had originally appeared on HBO or Showtime, which seem to have more leeway to develop characters and themes (and not have them interrupted by commercial breaks every X minutes): would it have devolved into the mess it is now?

Can't comment on 24: I watched the first season on DVD and the absurdities were painful enough then.

[Liberal_in_LA]

50. It's a muddled mess...imho

[XemaSab]

51. I think the attention to detail is impressive

Like last week when those two dudes found whatsername's thing by the caves.

I don't expect every loose end to be tied up, but it was a nice little easter egg there. :D

[philly_bob]

35. X-Files was an early example. No "truth" was out there, just disconnected stories. n/t

[MadBadger]

37. Pretty Stupid to compare 24 and LOST.

[Warren DeMontague]

38. Er, lots of us are old enough to remeber when Television REALLY sucked.

When "storytelling" was confined to 30 minutes a pop, shows came out of a cookie cutter, and if you didn't like it, tough shit, try one of the other two channels.

Dukes of Hazzard, anyone?

Okay, so you don't like "Lost". Big Fucking Deal. Don't watch it. At least you have 50 million other choices in that time slot, assuming you have cable. I've never watched "24", don't plan on it. But there is a wealth of interesting narrative shit happening on television these days, brought about by several technological and cultural confluences- from "cocooning" to cable, HDTV, and DVRs. Witness the Battlestar Galactica reboot, which had a damn fine run.

What it amounts to is a great deal of good, or at least interesting stuff to watch on tv, oddly enough at the same time when cinema is in a major fucking rut.

[Initech]

45. There are some really great and interesting shows like Dexter, 30 Rock, Burn Notice, Psych, etc.

You just have to know where to look. It's like any other medium - there' a lot of good and a lot of crap, you have to wade through the crap to get to the good shit.

[whistler162]

48. Okay... a brand spanking new TV viewer!

or someone who hasn't paid attention to the last 50 years of TV prgramming!