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early LOST writer (Javier Grillo-Marxuach, s1-2) writes about writing LOST
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Robdraggoo
Member
even after the show started its decline, I still wacthed it religiously and never missed an airing after I first started watching it. I was too invested in it.
Nazis could have easily fit in season 5 when they were jumping time periods. intead of the USA bomb tests episide they could have just changed the US with Nazis. Might have been to much for network television.
TrumanBurbank
Member
I feel bad for ever saying anything bad about Lindelof now.
Fuck.
Fuck.
It would have been awesome, that's what. Having polar bears and crazy supernatural experiments is perfect Nazi fodder, which have cinematic and cultural history being associated with them, such as Indiana Jones.
JesseEwiak
Member
Honestly, I think most of the backlash to Lost was because people on the Internet got obsessed with "their" version of what were the answers to the various questions, so they got upset when the answers the writers were different.
I was part of a much lower level version of this during the middle years of the X-Files when we got answers we didn't want on Usenet either.
I was part of a much lower level version of this during the middle years of the X-Files when we got answers we didn't want on Usenet either.
Robdraggoo
Member
I agree with this. the ending would have been devisive no matter what was answered or how it was answered. I remember the episode where the whispers were explained. I rolled my eyes and thought it was dumb. probably becuase it wasnt what I thought it was going to be.
I remember spending alot of time on LOSTPEDIA the time this sow was on and under every article for nearly everything there was an unanswered questions. and for most of thiose I was like, thats a question. was someome seriously wondering that? not becuase it was already answered but becuase it seemed so silly. the show did that to themselves. where every single thing in the background became an awe inspiring mystery that resulted in so many questions. even if they were not meant to be.
I watched the show as a marathon by myself, and I did notice a bit of this in the GAF threads when I went to read them. The fan theories were so elaborate and depended on so many assumptions on what they thought certain parts of the show meant, that when the truth ended up being something a lot simpler and/or a red herring, it would mean that theory that they spent inbetween seasons making up would have been a total waste. That didn't really have enough time to develop while watching myself since storylines passed so quickly that it all built up logically, no need or time to do guesswork.
That was great.
I don't think I would have pursued writing if it weren't for Javi's posts about the process. I've been reading them for a decade and always find myself inspired. The amount of passion he put into The Lost Experience also contributed to my love of transmedia storytelling. I've only done grassroots projects myself, but he's been a great creative inspiration to me and I hope I can turn it into something worthwhile someday.
DJ Dan for life.
I don't think I would have pursued writing if it weren't for Javi's posts about the process. I've been reading them for a decade and always find myself inspired. The amount of passion he put into The Lost Experience also contributed to my love of transmedia storytelling. I've only done grassroots projects myself, but he's been a great creative inspiration to me and I hope I can turn it into something worthwhile someday.
DJ Dan for life.
that's fair. my attitude is:
harrasment = bad
criticism = fair game
the line can get blurred a bit when the criticism gets particularly vitriolic and hyperbolic, but at the end of the day, there will always be criticism. ignoring it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it doesn't mean it's not valid. learning to accept it exists and which parts to listen to... that's part of being an artist.
(also every celebrity with 50k+ followers gets horrible mentions.... nobody in their right mind reads their mentions once you pass that threshold...)
Extra Sauce
Member
Yes, he deserves cyber bullying for life because he wrote a bad ending.
That was great.
I don't think I would have pursued writing if it weren't for Javi's posts about the process. I've been reading them for a decade and always find myself inspired. The amount of passion he put into The Lost Experience also contributed to my love of transmedia storytelling. I've only done grassroots projects myself, but he's been a great creative inspiration to me and I hope I can turn it into something worthwhile someday.
DJ Dan for life.
He's the greatest person in the world, and probably deserves a new show like yesterday.
I'm so jelly you get to work with him!
And I'm so bummed his Syfy project Infinity never materialized. It sounded like some beautiful Trek/Battlestar/Doctor Who fusion, which I know would have been amazing coming from him. Maybe someday...
dead souls
Member
Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't change the fact that saying "respect that they ended it their way" is meaningless.
Hell, the Dexter writers ended the show their way too, I guess no one can say anything bad about Mr. Lumberjack.
Megalosaro
Banned
Losts ending was fine. People's imagination were just running too wild.
I dunno, I think most of our expectations were more realistic than the magic cave and mirror we ended up getting.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
I might read through all of that eventually, in fits and starts, because LOST.
I don't think realism had much to do with it; the show was not about realism as soon as Episode 1 ended and introduced the monster (and the entire first season was written knowing they were leading up to mythological good vs evil supernatural sci-fi/fantasy stories). The prevailing thing I noticed was people complaining that the entire show was "a waste" because "all the characters were dead the whole time"....which was not even implied in the least, and repeatedly shown to be the opposite.
As someone that spent too much time at Lost forums, I completely disagree. The problem isn't that people wanted "their" version, it's that they had been told from early on that things would make sense, that all these things had meaning and would fit together. If you go back you'll find an enormous amount of comments and hints that were utterly ludicrous (and bullshit) in hindsight.
Then these fans get utterly nonsensical and inconsistent answers and they're told that it was never really about the mysteries but about the characters. Did I mention that the last season does very little good (or non-shitty) stuff with the characters and their development? Even worse, part of the fanbase decides to put the blame on those that expected answers, claiming that those disappointed simply "don't get it". After all these years people are still desperate to defend the show and its mysteries. I loved the show, but the answers were shit.
OricWindstar
Member
Sorry for the late response.
Yeah, that's why it annoys me when people get mad that things are planned out in their entirety from the get go. Breaking Bad is an example of a show doing it correctly. I hate what Lost became, but it wasn't because they didn't have a strict timeline when they wrote the pilot.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
It is no little irony that I read this thing for some time, entertained and amused, then I suddenly realized he was saying nothing and taking a very long time doing it.
L O S T
L O S T
I never understood why people held on to the notion that they were dead all along.
Seriously. He was in love with his writing/prose.
Cite your source?
My opinion? I'm talking about the article in the OP and how extraordinarily long winded of an essay it was.
It's not solely an opinion piece, though. It's a walk through the development and production of Lost over two seasons, which is about a three year process. There's nothing wrong with being expansive when the subject matter calls for it.
adamsappel
Member
They made it up as they went along, because that's how writing for television works.
crazyrabbits
Banned
What I took from it is that they essentially had one-to-two seasons of plot arcs/flashbacks/concepts laid out. There were some pie in the sky ideas thrown about at the beginning like the ongoing battle between good and evil, a corporation that may be running experiments on the island and the basic story beats of the Others and the smoke monster, but that seems to be about it.
I dropped the show in season 3, as I couldn't get over how bad the "pod" (the first six episodes of the season) were. Kind of glad I didn't go back.
Exploratory
Banned
I read every single word and other than my own writing I haven't enjoyed reading something as much as that in months. It was like whirling back through time and getting to stand in the room of my all time favorite show. Man I miss Lost. That show legitimately changed my life. My (now ex) SO, degree, career path, perspective on fiction and writing. Damn. Soo good.
I'm going to go watch Person of Interest now and try and wring every drop of Lost out of it.
I'm going to go watch Person of Interest now and try and wring every drop of Lost out of it.
This was a great read.
He comes off as a bit arrogant, but seeing as how he was at the front of what became such a cultural phenomenon, I can understand a little smugness.
I was fortunate in that I didn't get into LOST until the first 4 seasons were complete. I was able to marathon them and then watch Season's 5 and 6 as they aired. I didn't take part in any of the forums and discussions on the show, because I just wasn't interested at the time, so I had no idea of what all the theories and speculations of the fanbase were.
I loved the entire series, all 6 seasons. I thought the final season was great, and the finale was satisfying to me. I felt that all of the questions that I personally found interesting about the island and its inhabitants were answered over the course of the series, not just jam packed into the season finale. Being able to watch the first four seasons in 1 continuous go, without having to wait a week between episodes, and months between seasons helped me get a nice picture of the whole tapestry, despite still being two seasons away from completion.
As an artist and a writer, I also know what it feels like to create a concept from start to finish. Back when me and my collaborators would develop shows to pitch to Cartoon Network, it was amazing how, when the room was hot, you could come up with so much content, seasons worth of storylines and character growth and development, and how planned out the initial concepts usually are (we had one series plotted in broad strokes for a three season run, for example), but as a creator, you still have to leave some room open for spontaneity and letting letting the stories and characters surprise you.
I finished the first draft of my novel last November for NaNoWriMo, and even though I had an outline for all 20 chapters of the book, when I actually sat down to write it, it was amazing how much grew organically from the writing itself, and how that sometimes caused things to deviate from the initial outline in ways I found more interesting than my obsessively planned plotline and series bible.
I think LOST, given the scope and scale of the concept and their initial plans, was always going to be partially planned, partially made up. It keeps things interesting not just for the viewers, but for the creators themselves. How well that was executed is completely subjective, of course.
I think they executed it fairly well, and I still think LOST was one of the best television shows I've seen, even during its weakest moments. I still haven't seen a show like it, despite a glut of imitators.
He comes off as a bit arrogant, but seeing as how he was at the front of what became such a cultural phenomenon, I can understand a little smugness.
I was fortunate in that I didn't get into LOST until the first 4 seasons were complete. I was able to marathon them and then watch Season's 5 and 6 as they aired. I didn't take part in any of the forums and discussions on the show, because I just wasn't interested at the time, so I had no idea of what all the theories and speculations of the fanbase were.
I loved the entire series, all 6 seasons. I thought the final season was great, and the finale was satisfying to me. I felt that all of the questions that I personally found interesting about the island and its inhabitants were answered over the course of the series, not just jam packed into the season finale. Being able to watch the first four seasons in 1 continuous go, without having to wait a week between episodes, and months between seasons helped me get a nice picture of the whole tapestry, despite still being two seasons away from completion.
As an artist and a writer, I also know what it feels like to create a concept from start to finish. Back when me and my collaborators would develop shows to pitch to Cartoon Network, it was amazing how, when the room was hot, you could come up with so much content, seasons worth of storylines and character growth and development, and how planned out the initial concepts usually are (we had one series plotted in broad strokes for a three season run, for example), but as a creator, you still have to leave some room open for spontaneity and letting letting the stories and characters surprise you.
I finished the first draft of my novel last November for NaNoWriMo, and even though I had an outline for all 20 chapters of the book, when I actually sat down to write it, it was amazing how much grew organically from the writing itself, and how that sometimes caused things to deviate from the initial outline in ways I found more interesting than my obsessively planned plotline and series bible.
I think LOST, given the scope and scale of the concept and their initial plans, was always going to be partially planned, partially made up. It keeps things interesting not just for the viewers, but for the creators themselves. How well that was executed is completely subjective, of course.
I think they executed it fairly well, and I still think LOST was one of the best television shows I've seen, even during its weakest moments. I still haven't seen a show like it, despite a glut of imitators.
Megalosaro
Banned
True story. Last night I went to an advance screening for San Andreas. (Mediocre movie btw. The Rocks wife was one of the most annoying characters I've ever seen in a movie) and Carlton Cuse was there watching it too. Sat basically right behind me.
Estocolmo
Member
Thanks for the answer.
For your information, i saw every episode from first episode to the very last episode and that ending was the biggest disappointment for me. I regret that i followed that series today.
Brilliant read, thanks for posting it. Took over an hour to get through on my phone.
I watched LOST when it was airing on TV and I was absolutely hooked, it was such an incredible show to watch each week. I don't think I ever actually stuck with it to the end, god it was so long ago now I must've been 10 when it first started airing.
I think it's time for a re-watch and a finish!
I watched LOST when it was airing on TV and I was absolutely hooked, it was such an incredible show to watch each week. I don't think I ever actually stuck with it to the end, god it was so long ago now I must've been 10 when it first started airing.
I think it's time for a re-watch and a finish!
If "no one" is a few posters, then yeah.
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