Last night Lost wrapped up what you could call the most irritating show on t.v. Everytime you thought you knew what was going on they either confused you with 4 new questions or took the direction the show was going and put it into reverse went back 3 blocks and turned down a side alley. The X-File was an equally deep show, but its mysteries were not nearly as numerous, but even in the end still left you going bonkers over unresolved loose ends season after season.
Characters: There is no question Lost wins this category, it’s so lopsided I don’t know that you can create a suitable argument for X-Files to take this on any level. While Mulder and Scully are classic style and deeply loved in the genre, X provided little depth beyond them. The Cigarette Smoking Man and the Smoking Gun trio were awesome but just don’t hold a candle to the supporting ensemble the Lost can toss at you.
Story: Both had depth, conspiracy, deception and mystery but only X-Files had versatility. Lost had a set path in a sense, even in all it chaos Lost’s story was still a journey to solve the island’s mystery and “go home.” X-Files moved from aliens and UFOs to assassinations, Mulder’s sister, super soldiers, Scully’s medical phenomena and sometimes just a good old crime drama. When the X-Files hit a rough spot they didn’t have to explain it away they could just start fresh as they didn’t have a “soap opera” style to follow.
Life Span/Syndication: Content on both shows aside. You can not just pick up Lost mid-season, thus makes it near-impossible to put into syndication. While this does not matter to a fan of the show it does relate to casual viewing. I own the X-Files complete box set, I will also pick up the Lost set when it’s released, but watching X-Files is a matter of just grabbing a disc and hitting play, the order is not all that important after having followed it once. While skipping poor episodes of Lost in a viewing marathon is not all that harmful to enjoyment, watching random episodes just won’t be encouraged.
consistency: Lost never had a down season, where as X-Files started to lose its way and was in need of rediscovery when Mulder left and Doggett(Patrick) took over in 2000 temporarily. While the show never lost its allure for me there was no doubting its sub par comparison to it’s better seasons.
Finale: Both finales were good, but the X-Files excelled where Lost failed.
The X-Files left the show wide open but had Mulder escaping the government oppressors to continue his search for the truth even in the closure of the X-Files as a FBI program. While it leaves the show unresolved it keeps with Mulder’s character, had the “government” been exposed and the truth uncovered there would always be a mystery for Mulder.
Lost really botched their legacy in my opinion. For 5 prior seasons they lived and died with mystery and answering one question only to leave behind 3 more. Season 6 was nearly irrelevant and it could have been compressed into 6 episodes and given us more Island mystery. While I like how they tied in Jack’s neck cut in the finale to the season opener to show continuity the lack of discovery really hurt its reputation, not to mention completely minimizing the importance of the cast and focusing all of season 6 solely made for Jack when closure was revealed. While the finality of Heaven was a great idea it took a whole season to explain their newest mystery while neglecting everything they left behind in Season 5. I really wanted more explanation about Dharma, how the Island does what it does in regards to healing and pregnancy mortality, the Egyptian symbolism, the cabin, Hurley’s mysterious friend and the list goes on and on.
When you weigh it out the shows are in a dead heat draw, but with the factoring of the finale and closure and the ease of watching a casual episode at night X-Files is a slight leader. I will watch both shows with pleasure in the future, but even after a near-decade without X-Files the show still holds all the luster it had in the mid-90’s. There is no harm in being #2, but watch out for V, it may creep up on Lost one of these days.
I was getting hatemail regardless of what outcome I chose, so don’t feel bad about voicing your opinion.
November 28th, 2010 at 4:16 am
Hey Now
November 28th, 2010 at 5:51 am
Stupid
November 28th, 2010 at 7:23 am
How is Lost even Scifi? It is a desert island with cast aways… basically a Gilligan’s Island ripoff.
November 28th, 2010 at 7:23 am
Completely disagree, you sir are a f****ng moron and know nothing about tv. Ghost Hunters is the greatest Sci Fi show ever. I was once asked if I would like to investigate for them based on my scary extensive resume of hunting in the Massachusetts area.
November 28th, 2010 at 8:56 am
You are such a loser Erich.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Fuck off Emily you have been stalking me around these BB for years and even going so far as to take photos of my house and post them for people to mail me stupid gay catalogs and porn. I have had it just about up to here with your trolling and so help me I will ban you if you keep it up.
November 28th, 2010 at 11:08 am
Hey dipshits:
@ZigZag Man, this is not your BB this is my blog and you have no authority here. Your comments are trolling themselves so tread carefully.
1. Lost is sci fi, if you had ever seen more than the pilot then you would know that it is about every sci fi possibility under the sun.
2. Ghost Hunters is not sci fi, it is reality tv, not to mention if they believe in the ghosts then it takes the fiction right out of sci fi doesn’t it?
@Emily, please troll him at RRR not here. I frankly don’t care what you do just not on my blog please.
November 28th, 2010 at 11:57 am
You fail at this. I win, I always win. No one believes you.
November 28th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Come on tough guy open your mouth and I will hack this site back to the stone age.
November 28th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
You are a sad, sad little man
November 28th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
No one believes you, they are not even coming to look. I have won they want you gone. They will always chose me over you. I am all that keeps that board from folding, I am RRR like it or not.
November 28th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
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November 28th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
So you just delete my comments now?
November 28th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Yes I did, there is no need for scat images links here. Continue and I will report you to your ISP.
November 28th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
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November 29th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I’ll never stop
November 30th, 2010 at 12:48 am
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December 1st, 2010 at 1:27 pm
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*edited*Way to go Zigzag Man, this link had illegal content images, I have just reported you to your ISP. -Obi
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:15 am
Your are such a looser idiot.
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Wow! Really?
Your post speaks for itself.