You All Everybody

So LOST is over. Six years of probably one of the most talked about shows since Dallas is over. Were you left feeling a little. . .lost? I'm going to set aside my personal feelings of the ending for a second. There's some things about the show that I think people are probably overlooking.

1. Lost revolutionized the way we view television. Not only were there fanpages and blogs and chat rooms for the show but the cast participated. And not just Bob who was in one scene for a blink-and-you-miss-him second. There were commercials that aired not just during the show relating to products on LOST. Books that were read by characters in the show were being read by fans of the show. There were online games related to the show, interactive websites and magazines. There was nothing like it before. This was mass-media marketing at its greatest!

2.) People TALKED about this show. You couldn't go anywhere on a Tuesday leading up to the airing of the show without hearing the show mentioned. Not to mention the viewing parties, office water cooler talk of the show. Not to mention the day following, you had to see what people thought, what the theories were about that smoke monster. It brought people together.

3.) People routed for and genuinely cared about the characters. They were flawed, misguided and they had baggage. They were like us. They weren't glamourous friends with fantastic jobs and loads of free-time. They didn't live in beautifully decorated apartments or party all of the time in fancy clubs. Not only were the characters so well developed but the writers created such rich back stories that made you care about them oh so much more.

4.) Lost got people talking about religion, philosophy, psychology, physics and the concept of good vs/evil. People really wanted to learn what was behind the story and in most cases just what the heck some of the characters were talking about. What show has ever had such an expansive list of topics? (most in just one night!)

5.) At the root of it all, Lost was about redemption. Whether we knew it or not, we suddenly found ourselves discussing religion. Because at the base of just about every religion out there it all comes down to the chance to save your soul, the fight of good vs evil. People talked about whether or not someone could truly redeem themselves and find heaven, salvation, a higher presence in life. Not only that but it brought us some peace in a somewhat turbulent world. Good or bad, you still had the chance to make a change in your life. That good will overcome evil, hope and humanity are not gone for good. In fact, hope is proably still being watched over by Hurley and Ben on some island in the Pacific with a new generation of Losties.

Like it, love it or hate it; Lost was a groundbreaking show. I for one will ignore those that thought that they wasted 6 years of their lives watching a show that confused them and didn't end clearly. I think it did (and will probably post my theories on how the show ended tomorrow because, lets face it, everyone else is.) I'm happy with where my beloved and flawed but human characters are. I only wish we could follow that journey too.