WIL WHEATON dot NET: 1.5

Don't worry about the spoiler. I love spoilers!
Series 2 of Lost starts here in the UK in a few weeks. I was wondering, as you're into Lost, the prisoner and all things geeky, have you been watching the new series of Doctor Who which is showing on Sci Fi. We're just starting series 2 of that. What do you think of it?...

The Lost podcast on iTunes by Jay and Jack is excellent. Great theories, great information I never would have noticed on my own, and funny tangents. It's in the Top 100 TV podcasts section.

I haven't watched Lost at all. By the time I realized it was an intriging serial I felt like it was too late to get into it. I plan on watching the DVDs someday. I also plan on watching the 2nd season of 24 some day, but after watching the first season in a span of 48 hours I am a little hesitant to embark on that endeavor.

Did you ever watch a one season show called "Nowhere Man" starring Bruce Greenwood in 1996? The pilot completely hooked me and then I slowly realized the writers didn't know where they were going and then it was cancelled. But a great show. Check it out if you can.

If you miss out on an episode of Lost or are watching it wondering there is a clue here that I am just not getting TVGasm has the best recaps and comments that I have found for this show. I have watched it from the very first episode and was hooked, but I still read the recaps every week. There is always a good theory floating around.

http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/lost/

You and your sucky spoilers! Ummm, what's Lost? Hey, I thought you were in pain. What are you doing writing? Go back to bed!
Oh, hey, Red Sox are winning!
-Cheri

Oh and as a side note EdHill (Stage Name) the recapper for TVGasm references "The Prisoner" in his 1/31/06 recap of Lost. He highly recommends it too.

One of the reasons I like Lost so much, Alan, is the producers clearly know exactly where they are going and what they are doing. It's clear that absolutely nothing is arbitrary, and I'm confident there will never be a "Patrick Duffy wakes up" moment.

It's a lot more than the mystery of the island, too. They usually use about half of each episode to show flashbacks to the survivors' pre-crash days, in ways that link their previous lives and experiences to whatever they are currently dealing with on the island.

Because of the flashbacks, the characters are all fully-realized, flawed, and human. Even if you're not into the various mysteries of the island, or why these particular passengers ended up there, their individual stories are quite compelling, and make the show worth watching.

My sister's hooked and bought my wife and I the first season for Xmas. We watched the pilot. The wife didn't much like it and I was only marginally drawn in. I've been told to tough it out and keep going. I'm showing her this post to motivate us back into it. ABC providing them for free'll be another incentive to catch up. If we do, I may have to give up the Internets for a while. It's been hard enough trying to avoid Sopranos spoilers for the past several weeks (I opted to wait for the DVD instead of shelling out the $$ for HBO again).

I plan on becoming addicted to Lost on DVD over the summer. My wife and I are currently hooked on 24; and are finally caught up on all five seasons.
We just don't have enough time in the day (or TiVo) to get hooked on another series. Plus, I'm going to order the FireFly DVD set to watch when my wife goes to bed.

Poor, poor Wil.

I mean, it's good that you've finally caught the bug, but one of the best things for me as a Lost fan (who has watched every episode since the pilot) has been the watercooler conversations and checking out the fansites, speculating on the meaning of each and every detail of the previous episode, and the delicious anticipation of waiting for the next week's show. Some of the theories have been just as entertaining as the show itself.

I realized the importance of Lost on the first night! Yeah me, actually on the bandwagon as it left the terminal!!!

Hey, I like Bones! Chemistry - good. Writing - good (ok, fair.) Characters - good. Actors - good and unique!
I'm SHOCKED that Fox hasn't cancelled yet another "smart" show.

I'm also enjoying Lost a lot. I got the first season from Netflix last month and just couldn't stop until I was all caught up with everything.

I don't know about best drama ever (or even right now). The Sopranos will always make a great case for best TV show ever, but I don't think it has nearly the mass appeal of Lost. Another candidate is the new Battlestar Galactica. While I think Lost is extremely well plotted and completely engrossing, I see Battlestar as having a lot more staying power. The series just stinks of classic TV, it's pretty much perfect in every way! That said though, I look forward to Lost much much more just because of the cliffhangers. It was the same with 24 during the first two seasons.

Welcome to the hell that is Lost addiction! Waiting for new episodes is a form of torture on the same level as Chinese water torture. I definitely think you should check out http://www.thefuselage.com for the forums there. A lot of really great theories posted and things you may have missed(ok, you most definitely did unless you watched the shows frame-by-frame).

It's a bit scary!

I wholly concur about BSG, Taylor. In fact, I meant to put "the history of network television," but somehow that was ommitted.

Oops. Fixed it, now.

Re: Sopranos - Respectfully disagree. I nearly gave up on Sopranos during season four, when I said to my wife, "WTF? This has gone from compelling drama to cable soap opera in one year."

Season five got better, and I haven't watched it yet this year.

24 - I enjoyed the first season of 24 tremendously, but quickly lost interest halfway through season two. I don't think it has the depth of character or replay value of Lost, by a long shot, and the "gotcha" crap got really old for me, really fast. If you take the gimmick away from 24, I don't think there's nearly as much show there as you'd have if you took the survivors off Lost and just told their individual stories.

so where can i download episodes of season 2? I unfortunately have been watching it sporadically this year, i know i will buy season 2 because the second time you watch it you get alot more from it. any suggestions? what is iTMS?

How wonderful that you missed the season climax hype that (for me) turned out so flat!

WAIT until you get into season two. Many answers coming up. For heavens, sake, I havent had my reality shifted so many times since the Twilight Zone. Well, there was that whole - we see dead people movie~ "the 6th Sense" that caught me flat footed!

Cold brings swelling down btw, then once the swelling is down (may take a few days - heat will help the circulation and healing process.

I've been watching Lost from the first episode and it got me from the beginning. I did think it lost some of its steam in the beginning of Season 2, although it's back up again with, y'know, what's going on and stuff.

If you're looking for other TV (not necessarily sci-fi) to check out, watch Veronica Mars. First season is on DVD.

Btw, 24 is going really well this season.

I would like to introduce you to the two places I get and talk about info regarding "Lost".

http://lost-tv.com/

http://www.losttv-forum.com/forum/

Fwee! God, but I love Lost. I own the first season and intend on re-watching much of it over Spring Break (coming up in two days, thank Bob) and every Thursday morning I'm gabbing with the like, four other kids (I affectionately refer to them as my "water-cooler group") I've pinpointed who watch it. It is good television, people. It is great television. Like, The Pretender great, if anyone's ever watched that besides me, my mom, and my friend across the street. =P

Anyway... *can't wait for tomorrow, because tomorrow is Wednesday for her* And best of luck with your poor finger. Still makes me wince sympathetically to recall your description of the injury, heh.

yes but where can download some episodes though? i have seen one here and there...i need cohesion.

oh and by the way mr. coogan i read one of your posts earlier, i wouldn't worry, you have come from a family of actors and have quite a legacy...i mean most of us don't have laws named after us. second wind is due soon.

Hyperbole alert! :) I like Lost a lot, but the best ever?

The new Battlestar Galactica rocks me like nothing has since Babylon 5 and TNG before that. I know what you mean though Wil. Any time I find a new tv series I really like, or a new band, or a new author, their stuff feels like the best ever at the time.

I missed the pilot of LOST and figured that I couldn't jump into the middle. I forget why, but I tuned in one night anyway and caught _Special_. Even though some of the effects were, IMHO, pretty lame, the characterizations really grabbed me. I was hooked.

I watched every episode for the rest of Season 1 and bought the DVDs as soon as they came out. I've loaned the DVDs to my brother and his family - they all are now hooked. They've even gone as far as purchasing episodes from Season 2 that they miss for whatever reason from iTMS (iTunes Music Store).

Did you check out the HowStuffWorks take on Lost?

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/dharma-initiative.htm

I second the recommendation of Jay and Jack. I jumped over to them after the best Lost podcast in the world stopped, and I love these guys almost as much as Damon Lindelhof and Carlton Cuse.

I think what I love most about the show is how actively invested the producers seem to want the audience to be... not just for viewer numbers, but because the producers themselves seem to love this world they've created and that there are people out there who want to know everything about the world, too. That they throw things in there to amuse themselves, and the 1% of the audience that takes the time to tivo and translate dead languages. It's great.

I was kinda busy and didn't read the post with the spoiler all the way through. I was two months behind on Lost episodes but I finally managed to get caught up over the weekend. I can't wait to see what's happening next. Too bad I can't pick up ABC without cable where I live.

I didn't get into Lost until late 1st season. Hubby & I saw the commercials before it first aired and thought "Great. A pretty people trapped on an island a la Survivor." Boy were we wrong!

I agree, it is the best drama on a regular network. What does it for me, besides the intricate plot, and good acting, is the character development. Holy crap do those writers know how to make an interesting character! They are very human, and not ever quite like you think they are. Not one of them are one dimentional.

Sayid is my guy! Although I also really like Hurley, and have a soft spot for Jin & Sun.

Ok, apparently I need to get season one and get as hooked on Lost as the rest of the world. Alright, I've given in to all the other temptations placed before me recently. Might as well succumb to Lost, too.

BTW, is Bones on tonight??

Oh! And I can't plug the FullMetal Alchemist anime series enough. If you haven't seen it, give it a try! Great writing, and I never thought I'd say this, but the best English voice acting I've ever heard. Yes, that is blasphemous to say I watch an anime dubbed, but when the actor who plays Alphonse says "Brother..." with such emotion to bring a lump in my throat, I'll take the heat for saying give the English dubbed a chance!

Not Lost related, but thought it would be a show you may enjoy.

This must be another one of those, "You don't understand. You're not a nerd" things.

I like Lost. But best network drama ever? The first two seasons of The West Wing, I would have paid $8 every week to sit in a theater and watch it if I'd had to.

And once you open the field up to cable... geez. The Office (Ricky Gervais' version.) Six Feet Under...

Let me tell my problem with Lost...
I've never seen it but from what I can tell, it's going to end up JUST like the X-Files.

They got all these mysteries that they don't seem to be answering (from what I read) and it seems (from what I read) that now they're just making it up as they go.

Meaning they don't really have a grand solution planned and they just hope you keep tuning in season after season until eventually it will just twitter itself out.

/oh, Mulder's sister was really just abducted to PROTECT from aliens and then cloned! Yeah... I can see that was really brewing in their minds from day ONE.

Buntz: Strongly suggest not taking seriously what a bunch of whiny-butts online say about the show. In fact, they HAVE revealed the answers to quite a few smaller mysteries, and IMO have been doling out bits of the answers to the big ones at an acceptable pace. You can't answer all the big questions in the first two years, or then your show DOES die a slow death. I trust the producers when they say that they know what's going on, and so far they haven't let me down.

I am growing to love LOST, but it pains me to read a post in which you actually tell people not to watch BONES. Thanks to DVR and TiVO, many people don't have to make that kind of choice--and BONES is a kick-ass show in its own right.

Lost is decent, but if you skip Battlestar Galactica to watch Lost*, you're going to Hell**.

* On DVD or your PC, since they don't air at the same time.

** Unless you TiVO (or equivelent) BSG in favor of watching Lost... then you'll just go to Purgatory***.

*** Unless BSG is in re-runs, which it currently is.

I gotta agree with elocin and uberlibra - it pains me to hear you slam Bones; it's not like the two shows are competing anymore, and it's not like there only has to be one good television show out there.

:p

Okay, I didn't "slam" Bones. I know that Bones is a great show, because Nolan and Anne and Ryan watch it religiously.

My whole point is that I believe Lost is so great, if you have limited television time in your life, and you had to pick between the two of them, I suggest you pick Lost.

Exactly how that is a slam on Bones is beyond me. It's an endorsement of Lost.

Shame on you Wil.. No honestly spoilers are okay in my opinion when done tastefully. I do them all the time on my dc comic book review blog.

I completley agree wil. I did the exact same thing, getting season 1 on DVD, and then getting caught up via downloads until I was current, and I haven't missed an episode yet.

Best. Show. Ever.

The only thing I don't like about it is when someone ask's you, "What's Lost all about anyway, i've never seen it", it's so damn difficult to explain, and after I try to explain the show I always end up saying "check it out, but you CAN'T just start from where it is currently, you HAVE to start with season 1", and they usually end up going "yea, I don't have time for that" or something along those lines. I hate that!

wait, you're saying you have a *lame* blog too? where is that???

1) Lost kicks ass.
2) Battlestar Galactica kicks ass.
3) The new Doctor Who kicks ass.
4) I totally had a crush on Wil Wheaton 1986-1988.

That is all.

Wil,
We rented Battlestar because you told us to. I liked the miniseries, but was slightly cheesed out by the beginning of the first season. My boyfriend thought the miniseries was slow and liked the beginning of season 1 better. Should we keep watching? Does it get less cheesy? (I think I mean over dramatic and based on people lying to each other) Or should I accept that it just isn't for me?
Firefly, Lost, Next Generation, CSI and Robotech Macross are my favorite shows btw.
We're at the part where the girl on the planet has abandoned her colleagues and they are running now for real, and the doctor has started testing people.

Gonna agree with Jessika, the first episode I caught of West Wing was a rerun early one morning (In the shadows of two gunmen). I was so intrigued because the only way I was *sure* that it wasn't really happening was when a commercial came on! Now thats just good tv!

Lost is pretty awesome too, the little gaps that get filled in by the background bio's really carry the story for me.

I could easily see how the (very) random things that sometimes happen on the show would get pretty annoying afer a while if they didn't get explained, and they picked an awesome way to do that.

Also, I don't know about you guys but the rest of the shows mentioned are pretty awesome (see: whore, tv), I find it pretty hard to choose between WW, Prison Break, Soprano's, Weedz, the list goes on and on:)

We forgive you. It really IS an awesome show.

i respect your opinions will, i really do...any, i like most of the things you like -- but i found LOST to be absolutely craptacular. and "best drama on television"? -- i don't think so.

for best drama, i definitely give a nod to the new (improved) Battlestar and also a huge nod goes out to The Shield on FX.

^^note: it's 5:58 where i am and typos slipped in without telling me first.

Hmmm...

Gonna agree with Jessika, the first episode I caught of West Wing was a rerun early one morning (In the shadows of two gunmen). I was so intrigued because the only way I was *sure* that it wasn't really happening was when a commercial came on! Now thats just good tv!

Lost is pretty awesome too, the little gaps that get filled in by the background bio's really carry the story for me.

I could easily see how the (very) random things that sometimes happen on the show would get pretty annoying afer a while if they didn't get explained, and they picked an awesome way to do that.

Also, I don't know about you guys but the rest of the shows mentioned are pretty awesome (see: whore, tv), I find it pretty hard to choose between WW, Prison Break, Soprano's, Weedz, the list goes on and on:)

is mine!

I mentioned this before, but it took me a grand total of three days to get through the entirety of Season 1 of Lost. I'm OK with waiting a week for the next BSG installment (although some of the several-month cliffhangers are pretty tough), but Lost I wish I could do intravenously.

Sorry, no Lost for me. Saw the initial previews/adverts, said, "Oh, *hell* no," and never looked back.

No BSG either-- though I loved the miniseries, I can't stand the show itself. For me, the show plays like a d20 Future campaign in which the PCs all took the background "Soldier," but only for the free feats and skills, not for anything that affects their daily lives.

I haven't watched more than a few minutes of, nor wanted to watch, any television series in its first run since B5. Gave "Dub in Space" (Enterprise) a brief chance, said "fool me once... " and dropped it. Showtime's "Masters of Horror" is the closest I've come to following a series.

No regrets.

Well, except for watching "Dub in Space."

I am addicted to House, and of course that kid in the sassy gray jumpsuit, and you really knock him an awful lot...

Copied from my own comments elsewhere, in response to someone saying Lost is overrated:

Yeah, this is the first of Wil's recommendations I haven't wholeheartedly agreed with. I like Lost, but it is not the best drama ever. Among the things I'd rank ahead of it: Babylon 5, Homicide: Life on the Street, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (though each of them had a flawed season or two, I'd put any of their first two seasons up against Lost's two seasons).

That said, marathoning your way through a series like he just did can do things to your head.

As I posted in the comments of the Livejournal feed, it's not really a spoiler.

Here's what I wrote:
"It's a moment in an episode... but not really a spoiler. You don't know which doors or how, whether or not he got out from underneath and if so, how he did it. You also don't know if it was during a flashback or on the island."

So there ya go.

I watched last week's yesterday and it was awesome. Can't wait to watch tonight's, but I probably won't get to see it for a couple of days. No spoilers, Wil! :P

I must admit that when I read that tiny snippet about Locke, I went "Doh!" Especially considering that I too started watching Lost from Season 1 last week and am almost caught up on Season 2. I just thought it funny, that yet again, we are running parallel lives. That's why I read your blog daily (spoilers or no).

Wil, i'm glad you're hooked too, but TIVO bones, man, it's a great show in its own right!

shameless plug: i recap the lost episodes on my blog over here -
4 8 15 16 23 42

(well maybe i'm a little ashamed. but people seem to like it! um, the blog, not my 'ashamedness')

I got addicted just before the start of the season.Watched the first season DVD's in just over a week. Now I am hooked. I have some theories, some I talk about in my own blog. There will be and update tomorrow. :D

Booyah! Absolutely Wil!
Best.Show.Ever. (network, that is)

The character development, the backstories that reveal so much more than our first impressions, the phenomenal ensemble, the stunning location, the most diverse casting on network TV, the brilliant dialogue, the labyrinthine plotting....

One can go on and on. This is the only series that is Appointment Television in my book.

Love the interplay between Jack & Locke. Terry O'Quinn has never been better. And how can you not love Hurley? Jorge Garcia is teh bomb! I wanna know whussup with Michael going all Commando? Can't get enough of Harold Perrineau.

Ditto for the incomparable Mira Furlan as Rousseau. She is a miraculous actor, one of the shining lights of BABYLON 5, who deserves all the success that comes her way (and doncha just love the characters with surnames of the Great Philosphers (Locke, Rousseau)?

I can't adequately express the frustration of being told we're getting a new ep, only to be confronted with another re-run. Haven't made the upgrade to TiVO yet, but the old analog VCR is still set weekly to record each new ep. The first season has its own place of honor on my DVD rack alongside TNG, B5, FARSCAPE and the Diana Rigg AVENGERS.

Compelling is too inadequate a word to describe this series. May the TV ghods bless it for a long, long run.

On the one hand, I'm all fangirl "woo! Wil responded to something I said!" On the other, I'm noting that whence you're a newbie to posting, it's best to muzzle your natural inclination towards hyperbolic commentary to make a point. ;)

(The gripping hand notes that watching a show all at once is a lot different than watching it in serial form. I thought Buffy was the most overrated show ever, until I watched 5 seasons in 3 months. Then, it was love, pure love - I could see the development immediately, and had immediate payoff for storytelling devises that undoubtedly would have irritated me if I'd caught it while the show was running.

I'm more than willing to extend that kind of dubious reasoning to Lost, simply because so many people I know like it. But I've yet to get into it, and were someone to ask lil ol' me what shows I thought were worth watching this year, Lost wouldn't be on the list. Bones, however, doesn't suffer from the story arc issue - while it has a very definite progression, that progression is B plot, not A plot. Which is, perhaps, how I like my serial television in serial form.)

Yes, yes, by all means, YES. I got into LOST at the beginning of season 2 and immediately went out, bought season 1 on DVD and watched the whole thing through twice. (Hey, I'm at home with a 7 month old, I have time during naps, and I have seen all the ST:TNG episodes on Spike at least 3 times each.)

I think what captivates me about this show is that every time they finally answer a question (and the answers are still somewhat vague), they bring up 2 or 3 more puzzles. And the acting is great - believable characters even in the "bit" parts.

There have been a few episodes during this season that haven't been, IMHO, as intense and engaging as others, but I find that to be a much more rare occurence with LOST than with any other show I consider "appointment tv" - with the possible exception of BattleStar Galactica.

Anyway, I'm so glad to 1) find your blog, and 2) find that we have similar taste in TV.

Check out this guy's blog about Lost:

http://lost-and-gone-forever.blogspot.com/

He's really good about calling what will happen before the next show, and he's got some great theories.

LOVE the show, and I got hooked way late into the 1st season...

"House" is a great show, too...Love Hugh Laurie.

(and I like Bones. Even w/ Captain Forehead.) :)