Lost: Season 5 (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

And for that matter, Battlestar Galactica ended the same way.

The biggest problem I have had with Lost over the years is how willing the producers are to kill off major characters (seemingly, every sweeps season!), which cheapens the drama. Most of them died for nothing and didn't serve the story. Shannon? Eko? Even Charlie (it was clear that Charlie could have jumped out that door and closed it in plenty of time). Death is easy drama and I insist that a show as good as Lost work harder.

 

[TonyD]

why do people still talk about other shows and how they ended in this topic.
still waiting for the battlestar complete series to come out to watch it.

 

[TravisR]

His initial reaction was to close the door to save Desmond who was running towards the room. If he had had time to think about it than he would have gotten out.

Boone, Ana-Lucia, Libby, Charlie, Locke, Faraday and Juliet's deaths all put things in motion for the end of the end of that season, the next season or, in the case of Charlie and Locke, the rest of the series.

As for character deaths always happening during sweeps, that's just the nature of television. You wouldn't have Charlie drown 1/3 of the way through the season and then have a season finale where Hurley finds a hippie van.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

How is knowing a tiny bit about the tone of an episode a "spoiler"? I very deliberately did not post details that would be real spoilers in my description of the B5 finale, and all Sam did was say, "BSG's was like that." (And B5 ended 10 years ago, so I think I erred on the side of caution.)

You've already been exposed to more information than that in the previous "spoilers" and anyone who hasn't literally been living in a cave has probably picked up more than Sam "spoiled" through sheer "webmosis". I didn't even watch the show or ever seek out information about it and I keep tripping over references to it in the most unexpected places. I really think there is a limit (including a time limit) to what does and does not constitute a spoiler.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Sam Favate]

Oh come on, saying a show's ending had "elements of sadness" is not a spoiler. That phrase could mean anything to anyone. The ending of The Next Generation had "elements of sadness" because it was the last time we'd see these characters on TV! You'd be hard pressed to find any television finale that did not pull on the audience's heartstrings a bit. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but this hypersensitivity to perceived spoilers is out of hand.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

You know what? I'm with TonyD on this one. I have every intention of checking out Battlestar Galactica when the complete DVD set comes out, and thus far I know absolutely nothing about the show, and that's not by accident. It seems we're not alone in this, and just speaking for myself, I think it would be pretty cool to read through a Lost thread (or a thread for any other current show) without having to worry about an unrelated show being spoiled for me. What might be considered "obvious" and "non-spoiler" to a fan of Battlestar could still be a spoiler for those who have never seen the show at all and have avoided such things to this point. For example, you could say that a main character dies at the end of Battlestar (I have no idea, I haven't seen a single episode) and you might not consider that to be a spoiler, but for me I would consider it one because I'd start watching the show and from the very first episode I'd have it in the back of my head that someone was a goner and whether or not I wanted to, I'd be thinking about it. What might be an offhand comment for some people could end up negatively influencing the viewing experience for another.

Another quick example about this and then I'll shut the heck up... it took me until a couple weeks after the season finale of Lost this year to catch up, I had been a few episodes behind... and it really wasn't cool that the day after the finale aired, when I went into work and just opened up my web browser, the top headline on the Yahoo homepage was "Major LOST character dies in shocking finale". Sure, it didn't tell me who, but it really does get in the way of the drama if you're expecting it. Not only that, but I'm not convinced they were right either... we don't know for an absolute fact that Juliet is dead, and as for Locke being dead, well, they kinda gave that one away at the beginning of the season. Jin was supposed to be dead too if you believed the S4 finale, and it didn't quite work out that way in the end... but it's an unwelcome distraction to have to dodge all of these spoilers.

Put it this way... if you're writing a sentence that has the words "the tone of the ending to Battlestar" in it, it probably shouldn't be here -- talking about the ending, whether giving away specifics or not, is not something I want to read, and unfortunately by the time I realize what I'm reading in a post, it's too late to skip that line.

 

[Raymond_H]

Damn you, thanks for ruining all of those =)

While I think intentionally ruining a show for someone is obviously bad, there has to be some common knowledge beforehand on shows especially if it created (watercooler talk) where references are bound to happen.

As for Lost deaths, I'm cool on whoever and whenever they kill *anyone* as long as it serves a purpose. If the death matters and is a result of something that makes sense or leads to greater things down the line or if it greatly affects those around. I hate cheap deaths.

I think my biggest death complaint so far has been Shannon. I did not buy how all of a sudden she was the love of Sayid.

-Ray

 

[TravisR]

If it makes you feel any better, I saw the same basic headline in the Yahoo TV section a few months back. I didn't read the story (I assume it was about Faraday's death) but for at least a month and a half, I knew one of the main cast members was going to buy it. It wasn't like the episode had aired and I was behind or I was looking for spoilers but I guess Yahoo just thinks that everyone wants to read a spoiler on the computer rather see it in context of a fully finished episode as intended.

And for what it's worth, I don't think Sam's post really spoils anything about the end of BSG.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

You know what? If you choose to wait until a complete DVD set of a series is released months or possibly years after the series is off the air, you assume the risk of possibly being spoiled. The rest of the world is not obligated to shield you from any possible knowledge - especially if the show is a water cooler show or a becomes a pop culture item that is apt to be referenced in any number of contexts. You had the opportunity of picking up the series at any point in its run and watching it through to the conclusion. You decided to go another way and have to live with the consequences of your choice. It isn't anybody is giving away details of the finale hours before it aired on the west coast or days before it aired in a particular country. It aired months ago. I can see objections to specific plot details, but not to such harmless and general comments as those in the past few threads.

Maybe the mods should draw up a list of other arc-based, genre shows that we're forbidden to allude to in a discussion thread about Lost, an arc-based, genre show where such allusions just be, I don't know, germane to the conversation. Just so we all know what's allowed and what isn't going forward.

Regards,

Joe

 

[TonyD]

how about common courtesy, put mentions of other shows in spoilers.

It has nothing to do with choosing.
My cable plan didn't include sci-fi so i never watched it, also
why should i have to worry about coming into a topic on Lost
and HOPE no one says anything about what is going on in another show.

"Just so we all know what's allowed and what isn't going forward. "

How about common sense plus it's just plain rude to do it if someone asks you not to.
anyway whats the point of saying, "oh yea Battlestar ended that way too."
so what, it doesn't add anything to a topic on Lost.

If I want to know whats going on with Battlestar I'll go over to that topic and see what's being said.

 

[PhilipG]

The irony is we're talking about a spoiler for Lost that isn't really a spoiler for the reasons cited, and people are complaining because a parallel "spoiler" for other shows has been given to prove the fact, when those aren't spoilers either! Last episodes are always sad. The End.

btw...
mentioning another series in a spoiler is just as bad, if no hint for the series is given outside the spoiler. But how do you warn people what the spoiler is about without revealing the series? It could be a lame-ass opinion spoiler like this one, or it could give away the ending of something. btw, Darth Vader is ....'s father.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

To address PhilipG's question, you do it like this...

Star Wars spoiler
Darth Vader is ....'s father

Or even like this

Minor Star Wars spoiler
Sometimes you just have to go along for the ride and ignore the things the characters ignore. For instance, it's amazing how in Star Wars, the empire doesn't take notice of Ben Kenobi and that Obi-Wan Kenobi is able to hide in seclusion just by assuming a different first name.

Personally, it's exactly what I'd try to remember to do, not because it's my responsibility to, but just because it's a little thing I can do to possibly preserve someone else's enjoyment. Of course, I might make a mistake and not realize something is considered a spoiler, or just be tired and forget to do it, in which case you'll get a "my bad" out of me and hopefully we can both move on.

Sad endings don't bother me. We'd like to think some of the people we know will achieve something good, but even a completely sad ending such as everyone on the island perishing and the island disappearing forever would only bother me just so much because the outside world is still there. Losing the rest of the folks on the island wouldn't sadden me significantly more than losing people like Mr. Ecko. In that sense, it's TV death.

I'm still watching the show enjoying the ride. I'm not overly in a hurry to get to the destination, and whatever the destination at this point, I doubt I'll feel robbed.

 

[John Swarce]

Wow, after reading Ron's post about next season yesterday, I was thinking about how the Lost creators could end this series with making the viewers both sad and satisfied on any character/story resolution. I came on the site today to read all of these negative comments about spoiling the ending of Lost and the endings of other series.

What struck me as odd was that Ron, the OWNER of HTF posted this info! I'm sure he is aware of spoilers and how not to ruin the surprise for any faithful viewers. Talking about the mood of the series ending is not a spoiler, whether it is happy, sad, thought provoking or otherwise, and Ron did not say anything that was spoiler worthy. I read his post and thought that that is what I hope the Lost finale is like. Let it not be disappointing like some other series finales in the past.

I think that most series creators would want their endings to be remembered as "very satisfying and cathartic and redemptive and beautiful", as Matthew Fox put it.

The ending of Six Feet Under is my current benchmark for a series ending, and the above Fox quote could be used to describe that as well. Hope I didn't spoil anything there......

--John

 

[TravisR]

In the interviews that I've read with Matthew Fox, I get the feeling that he likes people to think that he knows more than he actually does. Obviously, he's a trusted member of the team and knows some general info about where the show is going but if they keep the season finales secret from everyone almost up to the point of shooting, why would they tell him the ending of the series?

 

[PhilipG]

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I follow, which is exactly why I do it my way.

Anyway, onwards and upwards...

 

[JediFonger]

that's why i always proclaim, "everyone dies in the end" but it never comes true .

 

[rvanward]

wow, an entire page of people whining about their lost tv-show innocence. Some here need to seriously grow up. Personally, I never even cared to see Empire until I heard that DV was Lukes father
.

 

[TravisR]

before seeing the movie, not everyone wants to ruin a story by knowing that kind of thing.

 

[Josh Dial]

Rather than starting the season 6 thread this early, I'll just bump this thread.

Has anyone been following the series of LOST webisodes on ABC's website? They are pieces of an episode of a ABC show "Mysteries of the Universe" (think Unsolved Mysteries) about the Dharma Initiative. Two pieces have aired so far, with three to go (one a month until November). The production value is great, and they are pretty interesting. Of course, there are even a few easter eggs, and perhaps even clues in them.

Here are the links:

part 1: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/lost/lost-mysteries/ThemeGallery/276307?playlistId=225479
part 2: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/lost/lost-mysteries/ThemeGallery/276311?playlistId=225480