FINAL REPORT CARD

In less than two weeks, the buzz and reaction from the LOST finale has died down to the last ember in the campfire. The fan blog posters have said their peace and started to sever the ties that bound them for the past six years. The graduation of fan interaction is upon us. Time for the final report card for the show.

LOST was a television show that captured the hearts of minds of its viewers. Some became engaged, some confused, some adamant, some drifted away. The series needs to be judged as a television series as the sum of its parts.

CHARACTERS: There was a diverse group of characters; "good guys," villains, intriguing back stories, with different ideas and agendas. The compound qualities of the character base was much more than an average television series that recycle stereotypical characters. GRADE: A

ACTING: There have been some exceptional performances from Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson, to average fair of Matthew Fox, to some cardboard cut-out acting from some of the other characters. As a result, the overall ensemble performance was above average. GRADE: B

FORMAT: The use of new story telling techniques such as flashbacks, and flash forwards made the show different from average shows. However, the difference to some became an annoyance as the editing tricks were used more to create or maintain mysteries than advancing the main story. GRADE: B-

PACE: The pace of a show is an important component. Did the series "move along" crisply enough to maintain interest? The first season clearly had its legs underneath it as the viewer explored the island along with the survivors. But at times, the story seemed to bog down on back and forth understated missions. In the last season, there were times when the characters merely sat around and waited. With the conclusion of the sideways reveal, some people think most of the island elements were mere unexplained "filler." GRADE: C

STORY LINE: This category must be broken into three sub-parts: plot, climax and conclusion.

a) PLOT: The apparent survival of the plane crash was the hook that got most viewers attention in the pilot episode. Then, the sudden arrival of island mysteries (like the smoke monster) made survival story even more compelling. If you add in the plot twists, con games, and mysteries, the show was layered and complex. It lead to viewers researching elements of the show outside the (TV) box. GRADE: A

b) CLIMAX: Every good story needs to have a defining, heroic, action filled peak for the story to resolve itself and its main character(s) to find what they were looking for. In the beginning, the whole purpose of the characters was "to leave" the island; be rescued. When some did in fact get rescued, the purpose shifted to "going back" to the island. When they returned, the purpose then shifted from leaving the island, to taking sides in a mysterious conflict between Jacob and MIB. The unwinding of the characters appearances into mini-climatic actor show reels turned the build up into a soap opera formatted conclusion. GRADE: C

c) CONCLUSION: Even after a climax, there needs to be a final resolution for the characters. Something that ties all the loose ends together into one coherent package for the viewer. The series finale drew remarks from viewers of being satisfied with the ending, to down right anger-betrayal. Many were disappointed that the island mysteries were not resolved, or that the ending added more questions than answers. Many were okay with the ending but disappointed or underwhelmed by the conclusion of the series. GRADE: C-

PREMISE: The show's premise was hidden from the very beginning. What was the show about? Were the characters in purgatory? Did the plane crash have survivors? What was the Island?! After the show ended, no one can truly answer these basic questions with any 100 percent accuracy. The show producers ended the series in a vague sideways feel-good moment without answering the Island questions. GRADE: INCOMPLETE

If you add up the grades for a cumulative or comprehensive grade for LOST, the final over all Grade would be a B (minus). This means that the show was above average by television viewer standards, but not great. The steady decline in viewership has to be taken into account as well. A complaint that the show filled up on questions with little or inconsistent answers ("they are making up as they go") was never put to rest. It may have been part of the higher expectations, or the massive amount of hype for Season 6, that led to viewer angst, anxiety toward the end. As one TV critic remarked, "it could have been worse."