THE CHANGE OF COURSE

It was fairly clear in the LOST writer's guide that LOST was going to be a condensed, episode based adventure drama in which causal fans could miss an episode but not be "lost" in the current hour long plot. Each episode would have a self contained plot, which may or may not move the ultimate theme along a linear tale toward a final conclusion (i.e. rescue). This standard format is what was promised to the network executives in order to green light the project.

Of course, there is a set universal theme to any television series. In Star Trek, it was the exploration of space. In MASH, it was the daily routine during the Korean War. Both Star Trek and MASH were episode based dramas. Each show began an episode with an event, action or investigation which would be resolved by the main characters by the end of that half or full hour. Self contained entertainment is most functional form of television production for viewers. This format is also the easiest to plan because writers only have to concentrate on an hour at a time instead of plotting the course of 26 episodes at once.

On the other end of the spectrum is the open-ended soap opera type serial. In those type of programs, the plot line is stretched out for weeks, months or even years. As the main plot line slowly crawls forward, soap writers throw in twists, turns, betrayals or clues to open questions to keep viewers watching to see what will happen next. This type of audience needs the patience and time in order to keep up with the various character changes, story line twists and turns. The traditional soap opera genre is pretty much gone because of viewers modern lifestyles and new entertainment technology.

Then there is a compromise format, the mini-series. In this program, each episode is supposed to add elements to build to a final conclusion. It is like taking a 2 hour movie and stretching its content to 7 or 12 hours shown over a week to 10 days. Mini-series were popular in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s but again fell out of favor because one would have to commit every evening to watch the series in order to understand it.

So, as originally planned, LOST was to be an episodic adventure like MASH or Star Trek with the theme of island survival.  But the guide never mentions how LOST was supposed to end - - - what was the point? Where were the creators going to take us? In MASH, it was the end of the war and the break up of the camp. In Star Trek, it was the reaffirmation of friendship as the characters would continue their missions without the viewers.

LOST changed its course almost immediately to focus on back story secrets and character conflicts rather than self-resolving episodes. It became format over substance as the story engine chugged along after ABC committed to the show. There are several untold reasons for this change. One, the show's initial creative team was preoccupied by other projects to clearly steer the LOST saga. Two, the show runners got cocky and decided that they were going to do a "different" kind of show - - - smarter than previous ones. Break the usual format for their own sense of jarring editing sequences. Three, the writers began to pander more to popular demographics of the characters than the character's guide traits to fashion stories. Any cohesion between plot and character development eroded along with continuity. If LOST was trying to become the premier intellectual adventure drama, that was a fine goal. But that was not what was originally pitched to the network.

In today's modern viewing options, a condensed series can be purchased, streamed or downloaded at one's leisure.  As such, viewers can readily compare and contrast their old favorite shows with new ones. I have recently began to re-watch a very good intellectual adventure series called DEATH NOTE. In a sad way, LOST should have been more like this anime series.

DEATH NOTE was an extremely popular manga series in Japan, selling more than 26. 5 million copies serialized in 108 chapters. The manga was then adapted into a very popular animated television series, shown in Japan and later in the U.S. and Canada (dubbed in English).

This series has a simple yet complex premise which incorporates many of the same themes as LOST (morals, life, death, mystery, supernatural, judgment, criminality, and mental issues). Light Yagami is a bored young high school genius who resents all things evil. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a "Death Note", a notebook dropped to Earth by a shinigami ("god of death")  that kills anyone whose name is written in it. After experimenting with the notebook, Light confirms its authenticity and is joined by an unexpected house guest - the notebook's previous owner, a shinigami  called Ryuk, who  purposely dropped the note book into the human world for fun because he was bored in his after life job.  Light tells Ryuk of his plan to exterminate all the criminals in the world, until only people whom he has judged to be honest and kind remain. Light insists that he will create a brand new utopia and rule it as "the god of the new world."

However, the authorities find it suspicious that suddenly hundreds of known criminals die of heart attacks. Interpol joins forces with a mysterious,  world-famous detective, called "L" to solve this matter. At the same time, the general public realizes that something strange but cool is going on: someone is ridding the world of the bad guys. The public begins to start posting sites praising this new force as "Kira," which is Japanese take on the word "killer.")  L quickly learns that Kira is really the serial killer, that even though he killed globally,  is located in Japan and can Kira can kill people by supernatural means. When L calls out Kira on a television broadcast, Light realizes that L will be his greatest hindrance to his grand plan. So the series quickly begins an intellectual cat and mouse game between two geniuses who believe they are doing the morally right thing.

DEATH NOTE is an excellent series. It brings all the elements of this conflict in clear focus but in an unusual way. The viewer is put in the position of being able to watch each main protagonist in his own element trying to figure out the clues, misdirections and next move of the other. The viewer knows what each person is trying to do, but there are stunning and jarring plot twists along the way to the conclusion of the 37 episodes.

Now some may say that series like DEATH NOTE had original source materials to help them along with structuring the long plot format. However, there is nothing to stop LOST's creators from writing their own origin materials to guide the entire series. Gene Roddenberry created a complex and detailed continuity book prior to filming Star Trek series. He was aware that he had to create a realistic universe in which viewers could suspend belief in the science fiction elements in order to enjoy the stories. There is no warp drive in reality, but viewers accepted it because it was an explained core concept in the show. There is no teleporter technology in reality, but viewers accepted it because it was explained on the show as being a duplication device run by a massive supercomputer. People thought photocopier plus super computer to buy that premise. So long as the show maintained that kind of continuity, it would become second nature and not bog down viewers in that detail or further explanation. There was no mystery on how the series technology worked.

But LOST was big on mystery but light on explanations. And the latter is the intellectual criticism for the series. It brought to the forefront known concepts and theories such as quantum dynamics, worm holes, dimensional portals, time travel, stealth technology but failed to explain how any of those concepts were relevant to the main plot, its climax or character development.

A political commentator recently opined on the intellectual dishonesty of the U.S. Congress as "kicking the can" down the road instead of actually solving the nation's problems, which most were actually created by Congress itself. In some ways, LOST continually kicked the story down the road, episode by episode without actually resolving any self-created plot problems. This would not have happened if the show stuck to the episode based story telling format than the serialization that dragged out themes instead of a meaty main story line.

The guide should have also been more clear on what the point to LOST was going to be. Every show tries to have some landing point, some moral or lesson to impart on the viewer. The closest thing discussed was the idea that the plane survivors would have to create their own new island society, with elected leaders, a form of government and rules in order to survive. There is no great plot plan for rescue. There is no plot path mentioned that the survivors would actually end up getting rescued. So even if the characters would never leave the island, what would be the conclusion to their saga?

Every good story has a beginning (set up/premise), middle (conflict) and end (resolution). In an episodic show like Star Trek, you could leave open the ending since each show was self-evident and resolved. But when LOST decided to become a long form soapy type of story telling, it needed the clarity of purpose, conflict and resolution. Fans will continue to debate whether LOST met all those criteria. But evidence in the writer's guide points to the fact that the producers did not have "a solid written plan and ending" from the very beginning. Instead, the final reasoning that LOST was a "character" driven show, through individual vignettes, does not necessarily add up like buying your first home with a jar full of pennies.

LOST starts with the set up of 48 people surviving a plane crash on a mysterious tropical island. It's main conflict is supposed to be how these urban and ill-equipped people are going to survive on the island. What was left unanswered in the guide was how were the characters going to resolve their survival conflicts (rescue? kill each other off? die by natural occurrence like a hurricane or tsunami?) The lack of a final goal line is the critical flaw in the story foundation of LOST. Many critics believe the sideways story of Season 6 was writer's cheat to create a "happy ending" for the main characters after years of action, adventure, life and death unexplained mysteries. The final conclusion, which is a major change in story development, was to leave the mysteries unanswered and allow the viewer to come to their own conclusions.