That’s (the title for this post) what Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) asked in Episode 2 of this excellent TV series, “Lost”.
Cast of "Lost"
I was a TV addict when I was much, much younger. I grew up watching TV series like “The Six Million Dollar Man” (seems quite a bargain today, rite?), “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, “Combat”, “BJ and the Sunshine Bear” and one of me all time fav, “Macgyver”.
But I actually stopped watching TV sumtime when I was 17 years old to concentrate on me studies! Really! Exams (O-Levels) were like 2 months away and I decided that if I stopped watching TV now, I could easily make up for it after the exams – watch non-stop and me parents won’t have a cause to complain. It worked. In fact, it worked so well that after that, I din have the desire to watch anymore. I was “freed”!!!
I actually survived 1 year in London without a TV – of course there were special occasions when we gathered in me fren’s room to watch but that was it.
Even today, I watch mainly for the live footie matches. With a few exceptions. They were:-
1. Ally McBeal
2. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
3. The Practice
I did follow some reality programmes like Survivor and The Amazing Race but not so anymore. Now, I do catch CSI whenever I can (only Vegas and NY). But I make it a point to watch ALL the episodes of “Lost”.
I had a feeling it was gonna be good cuz I enjoyed watching Alias – the same creators. But I never thought – or expected – it to be this good! These are the reasons why I like this series:-
1. It revolves around a small cast stuck in one place.
I’ve always enjoyed movies/plays like that – it really puts the actors to test. It can work brilliantly or just fall flat. (see movies like “The Breakfast Club” and “12 Angry Men”, and plays like “The Mousetrap” at London’s West-End where it worked so well)
2. It tells the story in flashbacks.
Again, flashbacks are an excellent tool if used properly. It’s like seeing the pieces of jigsaw fit in together. (see movies like “The Red Violin”, “Rashomon”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Memento”, “Courage Under Fire”, “Hero”. See also “non-linear” films like “Pulp Fiction” and “21 Grams”)
3. It’s got twists!
Now who doesn’t like a nice twist at the end? (think “Sixth Sense”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Memento”, “Snatch”, “se7en”, "Saw" etc.). Of course these days, it seems to be the “in thing” to have twists at the end that it no longer surprises the audience anymore.
4. It keeps you guessing
We are like stranded with the cast on the island, discovering as they do, each other and wondering where they are and wat is going on.
The movie starts of with Jack waking up on the island after the crash. As he tries to recollect wat happened, it was like we have just woken up after the crash, trying to recollect wat has happened. And together with Jack, we are filled with shock, fear, and perhaps a littled awed when we first laid eyes on the plane wreckage!
5. The most important – it has got HEART!
This is where it pulls away from CSI (for me, personally). While CSI is entertaining, it lacks heart, it does not get me involved – although I must say that Gary Sinese in CSI:NY is doing a good job to add some human aspect to the techinically brilliant series.
Each of us have our own story to tell. And it is true for “Lost”. Each episode focuses on one character showing in flashbacks, how he or she ended up there, why he or she is behaves in such and such a manner. We see that there is more to the quiet Korean lady, more to the weird man wif knives, the rock star, the typical bad guy etc.
Oso, it occasionally (I’ve only watched 8 episodes) touches on simple things in life that we take for granted. And it does so without getting too preachy or corny. There was this episode when it ended with a nice song and showed clips of the characters enjoying each other’s company despite of the situation they were in.
But I actually stopped watching TV sumtime when I was 17 years old to concentrate on me studies! Really! Exams (O-Levels) were like 2 months away and I decided that if I stopped watching TV now, I could easily make up for it after the exams – watch non-stop and me parents won’t have a cause to complain. It worked. In fact, it worked so well that after that, I din have the desire to watch anymore. I was “freed”!!!
I actually survived 1 year in London without a TV – of course there were special occasions when we gathered in me fren’s room to watch but that was it.
Even today, I watch mainly for the live footie matches. With a few exceptions. They were:-
1. Ally McBeal
2. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
3. The Practice
I did follow some reality programmes like Survivor and The Amazing Race but not so anymore. Now, I do catch CSI whenever I can (only Vegas and NY). But I make it a point to watch ALL the episodes of “Lost”.
I had a feeling it was gonna be good cuz I enjoyed watching Alias – the same creators. But I never thought – or expected – it to be this good! These are the reasons why I like this series:-
1. It revolves around a small cast stuck in one place.
I’ve always enjoyed movies/plays like that – it really puts the actors to test. It can work brilliantly or just fall flat. (see movies like “The Breakfast Club” and “12 Angry Men”, and plays like “The Mousetrap” at London’s West-End where it worked so well)
2. It tells the story in flashbacks.
Again, flashbacks are an excellent tool if used properly. It’s like seeing the pieces of jigsaw fit in together. (see movies like “The Red Violin”, “Rashomon”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Memento”, “Courage Under Fire”, “Hero”. See also “non-linear” films like “Pulp Fiction” and “21 Grams”)
3. It’s got twists!
Now who doesn’t like a nice twist at the end? (think “Sixth Sense”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Memento”, “Snatch”, “se7en”, "Saw" etc.). Of course these days, it seems to be the “in thing” to have twists at the end that it no longer surprises the audience anymore.
4. It keeps you guessing
We are like stranded with the cast on the island, discovering as they do, each other and wondering where they are and wat is going on.
The movie starts of with Jack waking up on the island after the crash. As he tries to recollect wat happened, it was like we have just woken up after the crash, trying to recollect wat has happened. And together with Jack, we are filled with shock, fear, and perhaps a littled awed when we first laid eyes on the plane wreckage!
5. The most important – it has got HEART!
This is where it pulls away from CSI (for me, personally). While CSI is entertaining, it lacks heart, it does not get me involved – although I must say that Gary Sinese in CSI:NY is doing a good job to add some human aspect to the techinically brilliant series.
Each of us have our own story to tell. And it is true for “Lost”. Each episode focuses on one character showing in flashbacks, how he or she ended up there, why he or she is behaves in such and such a manner. We see that there is more to the quiet Korean lady, more to the weird man wif knives, the rock star, the typical bad guy etc.
Oso, it occasionally (I’ve only watched 8 episodes) touches on simple things in life that we take for granted. And it does so without getting too preachy or corny. There was this episode when it ended with a nice song and showed clips of the characters enjoying each other’s company despite of the situation they were in.
I love episode 8 as it showed why the “bad guy” behaved the way he does. And it oso ended with this brilliant scene between Charlie and Claire over a bottle of peanut butter! I won’t say anymore for those who have not watched it!
My fav scene of episode 8! Brilliant! :-)
Sigh... gotta wait til next Thursday for the next episode!
All pics obtained from the ABC website
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