I actually just got The Prisoner...heard it mentioned a lot around here, so decided to check it out. I have 17 episodes - is that all there is? I've watched 1/2 of the first episode, it's definitely quality TV .

This was the first boxset I ever bought. As mindblowing today as it was back then. Definitely the closest in comparison to Lost. There was even a similar situation with how they tried to expand the series due to its success. Just as Lost's first season was drawn out with more episodes and more filler, the Prisoner was expanded to 17 episodes (that's all there is) when the original run was only 7. Those 7 are considered the ones you only really need but they are all pretty integrated. And the series ending created a buge backlash overseas that I was never sure was exaggerated or not.

I assume everyone referencing Das's post is talking about Babylon 5?

24 is rolling into its 5th season and gets just as much traffic here as Lost. Not to mention leaves you hanging on almost every episode.

Yea, was "The Prisoner" only 17 eps? What year is this show?

Late 60s, I think...that damned bubble!

Me too..Lots of Xfiles geekdom there.

Strong agreement on Twin Peaks. Even though the show aired over 10 years ago, there are still tons of websites and forums discussing it.

Patrick McGoohan guest starring on Lost would BLOW my mind away..
Like that last episode of Newhart as if it was part of the Bob Newhart Show.

Alias
Carnivale
Buffy Season 5
Angel Season 4

I'm not sure that The Rockford Files is exactly what he's looking for.

X-files for sure, especially seasons 1-5 and thru movie. There was IRC chats that went on for hours after an episode. I sure sopranos deserves a nod for intelligent writing and deserved popularity as well.

The only logical answer to the question posed in the thread is X-Files. Water-cooler talk is great and all, but the way I view the question it basically mandates the show have taken place in the Internet era. And while Twin Peaks did get a bit of Usenet play way back when, it was just a splash in the pond. Carnivale, Buffy, Angel, Farscape... I love all those shows, in fact moreso than Lost. But their viewership was limited.

With Lost, you have something that only the X-Files has recently achieved in the past two decades... Bringing your average-joes along for the ride of a show like Carnivale of Farscape that us geeks foam at the mouth over. Hell, I'm sure everyone has been on a number of boards that have nothing to do with television, and yet threads about Lost continually pop up.

On shows that crossed over from genre to mainstream, definitely the answer is X-Files.

Within science fiction fandom itself, as popular as Buffy and the various Treks have been, das is right. The SF show that by far created the most actual "discussion" every week was Babylon 5. The newsgroups were filled with thousands of posts every week, made even more difficult to follow because the syndication schedule meant it aired all over the place.

While not entirely on topic, this seems the appropriate thread to post in.
While I love Lost, I think it's problematic the television trend it's beginning, as well as its own storytelling techniques. The strengths of shows like Buffy and the X-Files were their ability to have some stand-alone episodes outside of the continuing plot and mythology. Lost seems to be straying farther and farther from this mentality as the series goes on. While each episode can be attributed to a certain character or be thematically contained (Walkabout being a great example), as the show has gone on, and especially in these first few episodes of season 2, the show is all about advancing the mythology, propelling the plot, and yet failing to make episodes that stand on their own. Has TV on DVD (as well as HBO; I've personally found that episodes of shows like the Sopranos can be pretty boring in terms of plot on their own but exciting as a piece of the larger whole)opened the push for entirely serialized television because of our ability to sit down and watch a season of a show instead of episodes in rerun? What do you all think will be the effect on the television landscape with what seems to be a push for continued storylines over self-contained episodes, or do you think Lost has stand-alone epsidoes that can rival the greater episodes of Buffy (Hush) or the X-Files (Jose Chung)?