Lost -- "One Of Us" -- 04.11.2007
04-15-07 | 10:29 AM
#202
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Just found these. Goodwin, you dirty dog.
04-15-07 | 08:39 PM
#203
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Interesting article in EW -- Damon and Carlton quit the in-joking about not wearing pants for a moment and offer their thoughts honestly about, among other topics, the show's declining ratings and fan frustrations with Season 3.
The article is not really spoilerish, bar a few sentences which hint vaguely at what's coming up in the next two weeks. I will spoiler tag those just to be on the safe side.
By Jeff Jensen
"Jack is back on the beach! The Others can't make babies! And ding-dong...Nikki and Paulo are dead! Yes, the stormy third season of Lost is finally clearing up, in case you haven't noticed — and judging by the ratings, you haven't. Since the castaway drama returned to ABC in its new time slot (10 p.m. on Wednesdays) on Feb. 7, viewership has slipped by nearly 20 percent to 11.7 million, and the series is down 12 percent from its season 1 highs. Exec producer Damon Lindelof is blunt about the ratings drop: ''It sucks.''
To be fair, numbers alone don't tell the whole story of Lost's health. Despite the decline, the show still wins its time slot in the 18-49 demo, and it's also one of the most watched shows outside of its time period, thanks to Internet downloading and DVRs. ''Because we moved it to 10, it does seem as if the percentage of DVR recording has gone up. It's tough for people to stay up,'' says Larry Hyams, ABC's chief of research. ''The numbers should be building toward the season finale.'' While ABC has renewed Lost for another year, the producers admit that their demanding enterprise isn't the weekly must-see that it once was, especially during this strangely scheduled, awkwardly crafted third season. ''We've always felt Lost was a cult show at heart. I think what we're seeing now is a marketplace correction,'' says exec producer Carlton Cuse. ''The research shows that for the most part, the audience that started with the show is still with us, though they may be watching it in different ways.''
The producers are working very hard to keep the fans who are still watching satisfied and tuned in. That's why they (literally) buried Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro's unpopular newcomers, Nikki and Paulo. Originally, the diamond-swiping crooks were to have anchored a winking arc of stories; one twist-ending episode would have devoted its flashback to actress Nikki's cheeky TV show, Exposé about strippers who solve crimes. But faced with mounting disdain toward the abruptly introduced characters — and ramped-up viewer frustration with the show's aggressively enigmatic storytelling — the producers decided in December to telescope their ideas into a single, kiss-off episode. ''Back when we had more good faith with the audience, we could have gotten away with these shenanigans. Given the backlash against them, we had to clean up the mess,'' says Lindelof. ''We're now judged on an episode-by-episode basis. There's not a lot of room for error.''
The encouraging news: A sneak peek at upcoming episodes finds Lost delivering some serious storytelling goods.
Lindelof says they wrote the finale mindful that viewers probably won't see Lost again until January 2008 — when it would launch a rerun-free season, and perhaps the beginning of the end of the show itself. The producers have long approached Lost as a novel with a definitive final chapter, and have been in negotiations with ABC about determining and announcing an end date for the series. Such a move would be fairly unprecedented in broadcast television — and could imbue Lost with renewed urgency. But for now, neither side is commenting on the talks. ''Discussions continue'' is all Cuse will say.
However season 3 ends, Lindelof hopes Lost will again be on friendly terms with its rabid — but easily frustrated — audience. ''We made a promise back in the pilot,'' he says. ''We believe by the end of the season we'll have made good on it. And don't start pestering us about which frigging promise. Trust us. You'll know.''"
The article is not really spoilerish, bar a few sentences which hint vaguely at what's coming up in the next two weeks. I will spoiler tag those just to be on the safe side.
By Jeff Jensen
"Jack is back on the beach! The Others can't make babies! And ding-dong...Nikki and Paulo are dead! Yes, the stormy third season of Lost is finally clearing up, in case you haven't noticed — and judging by the ratings, you haven't. Since the castaway drama returned to ABC in its new time slot (10 p.m. on Wednesdays) on Feb. 7, viewership has slipped by nearly 20 percent to 11.7 million, and the series is down 12 percent from its season 1 highs. Exec producer Damon Lindelof is blunt about the ratings drop: ''It sucks.''
To be fair, numbers alone don't tell the whole story of Lost's health. Despite the decline, the show still wins its time slot in the 18-49 demo, and it's also one of the most watched shows outside of its time period, thanks to Internet downloading and DVRs. ''Because we moved it to 10, it does seem as if the percentage of DVR recording has gone up. It's tough for people to stay up,'' says Larry Hyams, ABC's chief of research. ''The numbers should be building toward the season finale.'' While ABC has renewed Lost for another year, the producers admit that their demanding enterprise isn't the weekly must-see that it once was, especially during this strangely scheduled, awkwardly crafted third season. ''We've always felt Lost was a cult show at heart. I think what we're seeing now is a marketplace correction,'' says exec producer Carlton Cuse. ''The research shows that for the most part, the audience that started with the show is still with us, though they may be watching it in different ways.''
The producers are working very hard to keep the fans who are still watching satisfied and tuned in. That's why they (literally) buried Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro's unpopular newcomers, Nikki and Paulo. Originally, the diamond-swiping crooks were to have anchored a winking arc of stories; one twist-ending episode would have devoted its flashback to actress Nikki's cheeky TV show, Exposé about strippers who solve crimes. But faced with mounting disdain toward the abruptly introduced characters — and ramped-up viewer frustration with the show's aggressively enigmatic storytelling — the producers decided in December to telescope their ideas into a single, kiss-off episode. ''Back when we had more good faith with the audience, we could have gotten away with these shenanigans. Given the backlash against them, we had to clean up the mess,'' says Lindelof. ''We're now judged on an episode-by-episode basis. There's not a lot of room for error.''
The encouraging news: A sneak peek at upcoming episodes finds Lost delivering some serious storytelling goods.
Spoiler:
Lindelof says they wrote the finale mindful that viewers probably won't see Lost again until January 2008 — when it would launch a rerun-free season, and perhaps the beginning of the end of the show itself. The producers have long approached Lost as a novel with a definitive final chapter, and have been in negotiations with ABC about determining and announcing an end date for the series. Such a move would be fairly unprecedented in broadcast television — and could imbue Lost with renewed urgency. But for now, neither side is commenting on the talks. ''Discussions continue'' is all Cuse will say.
However season 3 ends, Lindelof hopes Lost will again be on friendly terms with its rabid — but easily frustrated — audience. ''We made a promise back in the pilot,'' he says. ''We believe by the end of the season we'll have made good on it. And don't start pestering us about which frigging promise. Trust us. You'll know.''"
04-15-07 | 08:56 PM
#204
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Originally Posted by The Zizz
I don't think so--I think the others are on the island for other reasons, but have learned that they cannot have children while they are on the island and want to find a way to fix it.
04-15-07 | 10:06 PM
#205
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I too read this week's Entertainment Weekly which talks more about the appreviated Paulo and Nicki storyline. Sounds like they are doing a lot of damage control now that they know ratings are declining and the fans are not happy with the hold out of answers. It's sad that they couldn't have just moved the story along to begin with instead of being so mysterious and cryptic. That Is ABC's fault which may be the final nail in the coffin for this series.
Last edited by riley_dude; 04-15-07 at 10:37 PM.
04-16-07 | 10:17 AM
#207
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by porieux
I'm pretty sure (hope) the big mystery from season 1 that is going to be addressed is the monster.
04-16-07 | 10:46 AM
#208
DVD Talk Hero
I'm pretty sure (hope) the big mystery from season 1 that is going to be addressed is the monster.
04-16-07 | 10:57 AM
#209
DVD Talk Legend
You know the producers are aware of fan complaints. And one of the biggest ones is that alot of the audience views the flashbacks as now unnecessary. I wonder why they don't address that?
04-16-07 | 11:06 AM
#210
DVD Talk Legend
What about their project on the Island is so important that they're willing to do such extreme things--while considering themselves good guys?
What I interpret as the real reason for the Dharma initiative, and the meaning of the numbers, was revealed in the online "Lost Experience" (and posted as a sadly unhidden spoiler a couple of threads ago.)
I think that's a central mystery from which all else spins, and since the answer is already out as an official spoiler, it's logical to presume it's going to be on the show soon.
What I interpret as the real reason for the Dharma initiative, and the meaning of the numbers, was revealed in the online "Lost Experience" (and posted as a sadly unhidden spoiler a couple of threads ago.)
I think that's a central mystery from which all else spins, and since the answer is already out as an official spoiler, it's logical to presume it's going to be on the show soon.
04-16-07 | 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by adamblast
What about their project on the Island is so important that they're willing to do such extreme things--while considering themselves good guys?
What I interpret as the real reason for the Dharma initiative, and the meaning of the numbers, was revealed in the online "Lost Experience" (and posted as a sadly unhidden spoiler a couple of threads ago.)
I think that's a central mystery from which all else spins, and since the answer is already out as an official spoiler, it's logical to presume it's going to be on the show soon.
What I interpret as the real reason for the Dharma initiative, and the meaning of the numbers, was revealed in the online "Lost Experience" (and posted as a sadly unhidden spoiler a couple of threads ago.)
I think that's a central mystery from which all else spins, and since the answer is already out as an official spoiler, it's logical to presume it's going to be on the show soon.
)
04-16-07 | 11:46 AM
#212
DVD Talk Special Edition
Originally Posted by starseed1981
You know the producers are aware of fan complaints. And one of the biggest ones is that alot of the audience views the flashbacks as now unnecessary. I wonder why they don't address that?
04-16-07 | 12:06 PM
#213
Retired
Originally Posted by sinned
I've never heard of fans complaining that flashbacks are unnecessary, not even on this forum.
They were great the first season and a half, now many are pointless like the last Jack one where all we find out is where he got his stupid tatoo's, or the Kate one where she was married briefly and so forth.
04-16-07 | 12:15 PM
#214
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Josh Hinkle
They were great the first season and a half, now many are pointless like the last Jack one where all we find out is where he got his stupid tatoo's, or the Kate one where she was married briefly and so forth.
04-16-07 | 12:30 PM
#215
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by bravesmg
I'm not sure which piece you're referring to, care to spoil it again? (spoiler tags of course )
)Spoiler:
Last edited by adamblast; 04-16-07 at 01:41 PM.
04-16-07 | 12:32 PM
#216
DVD Talk Special Edition
I guess i'm in the camp that doesn't mind the flashbacks, even if they seem pointless. I'd rather have character development that way instead of making up some assine non-mythology-related plot on the island.
04-16-07 | 12:40 PM
#217
Retired
Originally Posted by JayDerek
I guess i'm in the camp that doesn't mind the flashbacks, even if they seem pointless. I'd rather have character development that way instead of making up some assine non-mythology-related plot on the island.
I like flashbacks when they actually have character development rather than just spinning the wheels on a character. I mean how many times do we have to see that Kate can't commit to anything and is always running etc? Or that Jack can't let go and has to try to fix everything? Or that Charlie was a heroin addict and it was his brother's fault?
04-16-07 | 12:48 PM
#218
DVD Talk Legend
Yeah, definitley. I actually really liked the Paulo / Nikki flashback, and I thought all of Anna Lucia's were great...but I dunno if I can take another John Locke hates his dad one.
04-16-07 | 01:01 PM
#219
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Originally Posted by adamblast
Spoiler:
04-16-07 | 02:29 PM
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From: Washington, DC
Originally Posted by starseed1981
Yeah, definitley. I actually really liked the Paulo / Nikki flashback, and I thought all of Anna Lucia's were great...but I dunno if I can take another John Locke hates his dad one.
04-16-07 | 03:45 PM
#221
DVD Talk Special Edition
I think after everyone's second flashback they really became pointless. Even Locke's last one where we find out how he was paralyzed. In the first season and some of the second the flashbacks actually meant something and showed us who the characters really are.
04-16-07 | 05:50 PM
#223
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From: Berkeley, CA
Never really minded the flashbacks ... but I can see the producers moving to either island flashbacks, or to off-island flashbacks only for new characters in Season 4, in order to have more island action per episode as the pace picks up towards the series finale, be it at the end of Season 4 or at the end of some shortened Season 5.
04-16-07 | 05:56 PM
#224
DVD Talk Legend
I think the big mystery that was brought forth in season 1 that will be revealed is what is the cable that was found on the beach and where does it lead to? I certainly don't believe they will reveal any more information about the monster in this seaosn although I hope I'm wrong.
04-16-07 | 06:17 PM
#225
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Originally Posted by dsa_shea
I think the big mystery that was brought forth in season 1 that will be revealed is what is the cable that was found on the beach and where does it lead to? I certainly don't believe they will reveal any more information about the monster in this seaosn although I hope I'm wrong.