Dr. Bitz Ranks Every Television Series Ever...Sorta (Part 10)

Yup, it's been a while. I swear I'm trying to post more regularly but life has a tendency to get in the way.

This week we have 15 through 11. There are some interesting rankings here. One series was incredibly hard for me to rank. You're also going to find that quality (well, what I believe to be quality) can trump subject matter. But first, if you don't know the history of these rankings then you should go here. Now, on with the show:

15. Lost:

Sigh. What can I say about this show? I could write a novel. Did I rank it too high? Probably. Considering how obsessed I was with this show while it was on the air maybe I ranked it too low? All I know is if in the midst of season four you told me that this show wouldn't crack my top five series of all time I would have said they must have really screwed up the ending. Guess what? They really screwed up the ending.

And that's the debate. This show was good on so many levels but the ending was flat out unacceptable. (Actually, I liked the final episode but that was only because I already knew I wasn't going to get the answers I wanted.) My main impetus for watching this show were the mysteries revolving around the island the characters were marooned on. First and foremost, I wanted answers. I didn't get a satisfactory answer to any of the big questions.

At the same time it was one hell of a ride leading up to that disappointment. The acting was superb and Lost had some individual moments that may never be topped by another television series. So while the series as a whole left me feeling unsatisfied it was can't miss television for me while on the air. However, I'm not sure I could ever go back and rewatch Lost. I think I would get to angry.

So, when it comes to ranking this show I was very conflicted. But this is where I put it. Talk to me tomorrow and I may knock it down ten spots.

Last Week In TV #2

Thoughts on some of what I watched on TV last week.


The Venture Bros.:  Pomp and Circuitry
Hank is probably my favorite character (at least amongst the main cast) so I thoroughly enjoyed what was essentially a Hank-centric episode, although the secondary plot featuring Phantom Limb escaping Guild captivity and teaming up with Professor Impossible, while funny (I always appreciate a Professor Impossible appearance, mainly because Reed Richards is such fertile ground for comedy), felt more disconnected from the main plot than with most Venture outings. Amongst the highlights were Hank and Dean's list of career choices, Brock's fight with the Vatican's karate gorilla Swiss Guards, the Venture Bros. take on the slow clap, and Doc Venture's take on college admissions ("he's a legacy").

Lost 6xE: The New Man in Charge

Ha! With the show over, you thought I was done blathering on about Lost. But thanks to the inclusion of a new 12 minute epilogue on the show's sixth season DVD release, there's more Lost to be had!

Truth be told, I haven't discussed or thought about Lost much since posting my analysis of the finale a few months ago; whenever I do, I tend to recall all the dangling plot threads and incomplete narratives, and angry up my blood in the process. And while Lost stands as a flawed and imperfect narrative, there's still plenty to like about the show, and I don't want to always recall it with anger and frustration (or to spew bitterness when discussing it). Thus, I gave myself some distance from it, in the hopes that time will ease my frustration. With the release of the sixth season on DVD and Blu Ray bringing Lost back to the surface of my personal pop culture consciousness, I find my frustration and bitterness still lingers, especially at the surface (upon reading a post on Nikki Stafford's blog about a new series of "trailers" focusing on Lost's themes, my first thought was "will one of those themes be 'unfinished narratives?'") though thankfully, they're less raw these days.

Lost Mysteries

The series finale of Lost aired over a month ago. So things have finally settled in. After a lot of thought I've figured out most of the mysteries the show presented. I'll admit, most of my theories involve Macguffin the Magic Gnome who uses spells to manipulate reality in order to create interesting scenarios for the Losties, but whatever.

Anyway, despite the fact that I figured out most of the mysteries, there are still some remaining. So here are my top 5 mysteries not answered in Lost:

A Weekend at SpringCon

The re-positioning of the two day MCBA comic book convention from its traditional fall dates to ones in mid-May posed several questions: would we be able to book enough big-name creators (one of the stated reasons for the switch)? Would enough people attend, given the 20+ year history of having the two day show in the fall? Would basement-dwelling geeks be able to resist the lure of gorgeous Minnesota May weather?

Lost 6x17-18: The End

A few paragraphs will by no means be enough to unpack the entirety of Lost, a point now reached thanks to its final, appropriately-titled episode, "The End". It will take quite a bit of time and rumination to come to complete conclusions about Lost, as a show and a complete narrative; all that exists for the moment are but immediate impressions. 

Lost 6x16: What They Died For

Lost's final penultimate episode, "What They Died For" made an effort towards replacing the vagueness and obfuscation of the previous episode with clarity and straightforwardness. Lost's pre-finale episodes have a history of, if not downloading significant mythological answers, at least making clear the final plot points of the season. While the answers here weren't multitudinous, they were, at least, comparatively straightforward, and there's a clear(er) sense of where all the characters are at and what they hope to accomplish heading into the finale.

Lost 6x14: The Candidate

With the end in sight, "The Candidate" depicts the culmination of FLocke's long con: convince the remaining candidates he's a nice guy who just wants to leave the island and take them with him, all the while setting them up to kill themselves in one fell swoop. In the process, FLocke stands revealed, once and for all, as the villain of the piece. Not only has he purged any ambiguity in the minds of the audience, but by orchestrating the destruction of the sub, killing half the remaining cast in the process, FLocke has declared himself the villain to the characters as well. For the first time, the audience and the characters are on the same page: FLocke is the bad guy, and he has to be stopped. 

Lost 6x13: The Last Recruit

Like the threads of Jacob's tapestry, the stories of the sideways characters are being woven together, as fate, ably aided by Desmond, brings the characters within proximity of each other. On the island, everyone similarly came together only to quickly split up. Sawyer led the Losties to Hydra Island, only to find themselves captured, and not welcomed, by Widmore, but not before the long teased Jin/Sun reunion. Jack, believing the island isn't done with him yet, remains reluctant to leave the island, putting him, in one way or another, in conflict with both Sawyer and FLocke, and making him appear, on the surface at least, to be the most likely candidate to replace Jacob. Though he started the episode with Sawyer and the other Losties and ended it carried to safety by FLocke, Jack is very much on his own.

Lost 6x12: Everybody Loves Hugo

Aw, Hurley and Libby finally got their picnic. And this time, he remembered the blanket.

Libby's return didn't exactly tie up the lingering loose threads from her island story, but thanks to Desmond's new course of action, triggered by the events of the last episode, her appearance in the flash sideways was more significant than previous sideways returns. Add Hurley to the list of sideways characters whose eyes have been opened to the existence of the other reality. Where that's ultimately leading, what Desmond's ultimate goal is, remains unknown.

Lost 6x11: Happily Ever After

Well, it was bound to happen eventually: an episode centered more on the flash sideways world than anything else. Thankfully, it was a Desmond episode to help it go down easier. And if the nature and ultimate point of the flash sideways device wasn't spelled out once and for all, and least it's true nature is closer to the surface than ever before, and events are placed in motion towards a resolution.

Lost 6x10: The Package

The first episode of the second half of Lost's final season brings Sun, largely dormant since learning Jin was alive last season, roaring back to life. Spurning Smokey, yelling at Richard, stripteasing Jin in the flash sideways; Sun hasn't had this much to do since her intriguing but seemingly forgotten alliance with Widmore. Her bonk-on-the-head-induced inability to speak English runs the risk of becoming gimmicky, but in a season that's all about going back to the beginning and is littered with callbacks to the show's first episodes, it's interesting to note that, for the time being, there is once again one Kwon who can speak English and another who can't.

Lost 6x09: Ab Aeterno

“The cork... is this island. And it’s the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs.”

Ab Aeterno, Latin for "from the beginning of time", implicitly promised to finally shed some light on the enigma that is Richard Alpert. It did so, magnificently, while at the same time unexpectedly clarifying the overall purpose of the island, Jacob's role thereon, and the struggle between he and his nemesis in black.

Lost 6x08: Recon

Last week's "Dr. Linus" was a tough act to follow and, unfortunately, "Recon" seems to come up a bit short, more akin to the weaker "What Kate Does" than the finer episodes of the season. For perhaps the first time this season, the events of the flash sideways were more compelling than the story on the island. As with last season, when he was Dharma's sheriff, it's fun to see Sawyer use his prodigious talent for lies and deceptions for good. He and Miles, Lost's two greatest snarks, have always made a good team and it was enjoyable to see them as partners back in LA. The appearance by Charlotte was fun, albeit perfunctory, and she's never looked better.

Lost 6x07: Dr. Linus

Homer Simpson once said it takes two to lie: one to lie and one to listen. The last several seasons have found Ben struggling first to maintain his power on the island and then to reclaim it. Just like Napoleon on Elba, Ben returned to Craphole Island a major player in name only. In complete free fall since getting conned into killing Jacob, and with his last great lie exposed, Ben finds himself the most powerless he's ever been. No one will even listen to him, and without an ear in which to speak, his greatest power is rendered moot.

Lost 6x06: Sundown

The palpable sense of dread and foreboding that hung over the season premiere returned with a gusto in this episode, as Smokey made his move, decimating the temple as Sayid fully turned to the Dark Side (also, Claire? Still crazy as hell).  "Sundown" doesn't just refer to the time of Smokey's attack: it would seem the sun has gone down on the Other's dominance of the island.

Lost Runs in the Family

My brother, the witty and sardonic Soapfish, has started his own Lost blog, The Beard Station.

Being that he is an accomplished artist with all kinds of fancy illustration degrees, his site is as visually sharp as his writing. He even crafted a nifty pic of yours truly.

Check it out!

Lost 6x05: The Lighthouse

"You don't have what it takes." Those words, spoken to Jack by his father when he was young, speak to Jack's inability to be a hero. Lost is an ensemble show, but in many ways, Jack is the central character. The crash of flight 815 and its immediate aftermath was seen through his eyes, he's received the most character-centric episodes (with mixed results) and is the driving force behind many of the most significant events on the island. In fact, the grand narrative of Lost, at least from the perspective of the Losties, could be seen as Jack's quest to prove to his father he does have what it takes to be a hero.

Lost 6x04: The Substitute

Now THAT'S more like it! "The Substitute" was Lost at its best, displaying both brilliant character work and compelling mythology, the first great episode of the season. It had disheveled Richard, pants-less Sawyer, douche-y Randy, and Other-less Ben. Mirroring the first season's "Walkabout", the focus was on Locke. On the island, Locke finally got a burial, appropriately added to the cemetery near the Lostie's beach camp and succinctly eulogized by his murderer, while the being wearing his shape recruited Sawyer and led him to some answers that underpin the entire mythology of the show.  

Lost 6x03: What Kate Does

The callbacks to season one continue: Kate episodes are just as "meh" as they've ever been! While it was a bit fun to see a good old-fashioned track-through-the-jungle (another season one staple) on the island and to watch Claire and Kate quasi Thelma-and-Louise it in the flashsideways, the episode really didn't pick up until the last fifteen minutes or so. By then, the first, original Other, Ethan, popped up in the flashsideways, we learned that Sayid was infected and the Others need to kill him before it consumes him like it did Claire, and Claire herself popped up on the island doing her best Rousseau impersonation.