Does Lost owe its soul to video games?
by Christopher Grant 
{ Jan 12th 2006 at 5:00PM }
Jennifer Buckendorff writes in the Seattle Times, "Unlike traditionally passive television shows, which
expect viewers to zone out in a couch-potato haze, Lost, which returns with
new episodes Wednesday night, has embedded clues throughout. It's these recurring tidbits — and the patterns they
form — that make Lost the first show to resemble a video game."She makes a strong case, drawing analogies between consumers of both falling into casual and hardcore camps. The community involvement, in forums and podcasts, strongly resembles the ad-hoc communities that developed around popular alternate reality games. Think of The Cloudmakers group that deciphered the A.I. promotion The Beast, or the groups that worked together on Microsoft's i love bees.
As television viewership decreases because popular demographics (that's you guys) spend more of their entertainment time reading blogs (that's us) and playing video games, it's encouraging to see that at least one show has created a formula to attract viewers back to the often dull network television.
Is it only one show though? I've always thought 24 encouraged the same kind of critical attention; with dozens of characters and more backstabbing than a daytime soap, it's one of the few shows on television that can match the excitement of a video game.
[Via Cathode Tan]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4port @ Jan 12th 2006 5:27PM
Sure, its goal is to become an "alternative reality game" and entice viewers with clues and subtle hints as to what is really happening and it will eventually reach a stunning climax where everything makes sense...
Either that or its going continue milking its audience with non-sensical cliffhangers and illogical clues for the next 5 years until the viewers smarten up and stop pretending that anything in the show has a deeper meaning. After the show's ratings drop like a rock, a "final episode" will be aired. This episode will try to explain all these deep dark secrets, but will end up being completely convoluted and non-sensical. Everyone outside of pseudo-philosophical stoner nerds will forget about the show and file it under whatever category everyone today puts "The X-Files."
But thats not going to happen, I mean no television producer would ever lead their audience on to get more advertising revenue!
pennywise969 @ Jan 12th 2006 5:34PM
24! Sunday night marks the return of the Jack Bauer Power Hour!
Jeff @ Jan 12th 2006 5:40PM
"It's these recurring tidbits and the patterns they form that make Lost the first show to resemble a video game."
Huh? Has this chick never heard of Twin Peaks? It's regularly credited as one of the big inspirations for Lost, including by the show's creators themselves. They've said they're sort of straddling the line between Twin Peaks and the X-Files, hoping to avoid the pitfalls that both shows fell into (one resolving all of its mysteries too early, the other drawing them out for far too long).
I'm not really sure either how just dropping a few recurring clues now and then makes a TV show have any relation to video games. It's just the fact that it's not a passive excercise any longer? That's true of a lot of TV shows, and not even all of them involve mysteries.
btw, I count myself as a huge Lost fan - it's probably in my top five favorite series of all time (Twin Peaks, of course, being number one). Is that because I'm also a gamer? I more than kinda doubt it.
Garold @ Jan 12th 2006 5:45PM
It's not a drama, and not really anything like an ARG, but Arrested Development (Fox's popular episodic sitcom) contains a ton of foreshadowing. For instance, in middle of the second seaon, the character Buster loses his hand and gets a hook to replace it. If you watch earlier episodes in the season, you'll notice foreshadowing jokes like when Buster says "I never thought I'd miss a hand that much" (referring to a hand-shaped chair) or when the narrator (Ron Howard) says "Buster was hooked" (as in addicted). It's not really enough to be able to predict what will happen (I think), but it makes for some pretty good laughs when you watch the reruns or the DVD's.
Babu @ Jan 12th 2006 5:53PM
You just had to bring X-Files into this now didnt you!!! That was one of the best TV series to ever exist as each episode covered something basic while there was the underlying puzzle. Just because they never made sense of the underlying puzzle of Mulders past, and the underlying story got so confusing it was like trying to pan for gold in the amazon river. All this doesnt mean it wasnt one of the most enjoyable television series to watch and follow. And in the end, we just want to enjoy ourselves. Have love for the x-files.
Justin @ Jan 12th 2006 6:02PM
Pfft. My girl got me into watching Lost. All the sci-fi thriller stuff is _totally_ up my alley (the mysterious porthole, the computer and countdown, the creepy orientation film, the nanotechnology)...
... but maaaaan, they just milk the great storyline with episode-long flashbacks and too much backstory. It's killing me. Last night's episode was a total dog. I mean, in the episode description was "So-and-so gives someone a haircut." Are you kidding me? Who cares is "this guy" was a gansgter drug peddler, he's on a goddamn ISLAND in the middle of NOWHERE with creepy shit going on, so just get ON with it!
If it focused more on the sci-fi stuff and less on "why this character is a jerk" or "hey here's why this guy isn't a great father," then maybe it would be more like a video game as 24 definitely is. Otherwise, it's a _damn_ slow show with spurts of very well written excitement...
pennywise969 @ Jan 12th 2006 6:28PM
Justin, I have to say that you are missing the point. If they gave you all the "good stuff" then they would have blown their load in the first season. Cool storylines and creepy stuff are good, but characters are what keep things interesting in the long run. Im just glad you arent in charge of the show, because it is great as it is. p.s. last night's episode wasnt a dog. it was great.
BenR @ Jan 12th 2006 6:36PM
I'm with 4port on this. Lost is mildly entertaining on an otherwise boring evening, but it's just a piece of fluff. The script is mediocre, driven by plot convenience rather than anything else like logic or character. It's a Rorschach blot in which the audience can see what they want, until the writers feel they have milked it enough to tack on some silly ending.
Douglas Cartland @ Jan 12th 2006 6:38PM
I've always thought of Lost as having a lot of common elements with especially Silent Hill.
Elements that resemble each other:
- The others (lost) may remind you of the cult(sh). Not much is known about either, but each hold information about the location relevant to figuring out what the heck is going on on the island/town.
- Many people are paying for their sins in a mysterious, but very symbolic way, some of which may be explained as being "personal purgatories" by a force no one can explain.
- Clues are being given out very subtly and in small doses.
- Children are innocent and possess extrordinary powers.
are the main ones I guess.
BenR @ Jan 12th 2006 6:45PM
pennywise969:
The characters were just about interesting enough for the first half of series one, beyond that they clearly ran out of ideas. They now seem to have whole episodes dedicated to dull characters' flashbacks which could be told in a fifth of the time. Just because people cry a lot doesn't make a story emotional or deep.
I just got fed up, read the episode summary for series 2 (I'm in the UK), realised nothing happens and have decided to not watch any more episodes as it really isn't going any where.
origamian @ Jan 12th 2006 7:08PM
Steven Johnson makes some similar points in his wonderful book "Everything Bad Is Good For You". I recommend it to all true video game fans -- it gives you tons of intelligent-sounding arguments to use against those people who say, "Video games rot your brain!"
The overall point seems to be that maybe, just maybe, TV, movies, and video games can be beneficial to cognitive development. And they're lots of fun, to boot.
arrakisman @ Jan 12th 2006 7:10PM
Hmmm...I may have to watch it. Frankly though, I lost hope for TV when Universal shut down The Cronicle and the rest of the great original programing on the Sci-Fi Channel.
pennywise969 @ Jan 12th 2006 7:14PM
I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I hope that you find something that you enjoy as much as I enjoy lost. If you are looking, I would highly recommend 24.
martin @ Jan 12th 2006 7:21PM
Two words. Battlestar Galactica.
dsub @ Jan 12th 2006 11:26PM
I HATE THIS SHOW. I'm sorry but in my opinion LOST sucks. TV shows like this just don't keep me coming back for more. I agree with the poster a couple comments back. The horse is dead. They need to stop beating it.
arg! @ Jan 13th 2006 2:57AM
Lost is very much like another niche entertainment market, but not video games. Many of the writers for Lost are comic book writers. ou guys should gor read some comics from Vertigo.
Benny @ Jan 13th 2006 8:45AM
Well, I actually said something very similar to a friend of mine a few weeks back. Lost reminded me so much of a somethign I'd expect to find in a computer game. Though, wierdly, whenever I tried to recall a video game that was like Lost the only game that really came to mind was Monkey Island.
Lansing @ Jan 13th 2006 4:36PM
Lost season 1 > Lost season 2