After an entire summer of no TV at all (Netflix, like Ben & Jerry’s, doesn’t count), I watched three hours in a row tonight and my eyes are still uncrossing. Everybody knows the old saw about television being the opiate of the masses (opium must flourish in vast wastelands). But when exactly did TV’s drug metaphor of choice change to crack?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gone are the days of The A-Team<\/em>, where one could switch on any random episode and know immediately what’s going on. Lost, like kissing-cousin action\/dramas Alias<\/em> and 24<\/em>, depends at least as much on plot continuity as character development. Not coincidentally, these are the only three shows I watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’m passing on 24<\/em> this year, because no matter how exciting the plotting, the politics became too unpalatable for me. The overarching theme of the entire last season boils down to the following: torture is a great tool for fighting terrorism. OK… I might listen<\/em> to such an argument… if our inept intelligence community ever manages to catch a terrorist BEFORE striking!<\/em> Please, give me a break. And making fun of Amnesty International was just wrong<\/em>. Can you tell I’m angry?.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve yet to decide if I’m going to commit to another whole year of Alias<\/em>. No matter how sexy Lena Olin is, the show has lost its fun plot-driven nature and converted into a more typical wing-it-week-by-week format. So that leaves Lost<\/em>, the only one of the three about which I’ve actually been impatient all summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any good drug, with everything Lost<\/em> gives, it only demands more. The addictive nature of the show is to eke out information in tiny little dimebags… I mean, pieces. So I’ve waited all summer for the answer to countless questions, at least one of which was “answered” tonight. I put that in scare quotes because all it did was metastasize the number of questions to absurd proportions. But disappointingly, I found it a bit of a cheat to discover the contents of the hatch to be a new character introduced just 5 minutes before. Where’s the suspense in that? Imagine if it had been Jack’s father or fiance instead. Wouldn’t you just have jumped out of your chair? OK, maybe just junkies like me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To add a little spice to the evening, the local ABC news affiliate broke in repeatedly to keep us informed on a Jet Blue plane making an emergency landing with its landing gear twisted sideways. Would they have been so morbidly enthusiastic about the story if Lost<\/em> wasn’t about the survivors of a plane crash? And just to top all the breathless action off, we’re treated to a Jet Blue commercial! Oops… awkward! (Aside: my friend Dave helpfully suggested they should simply land sideways. Thanks Dave!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uh… so? In short, this one did nothing for me. I guess they figured keeping “of the Body Snatchers” in the title added up to too many syllables.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After an entire summer of no TV at all (Netflix, like Ben & Jerry’s, doesn’t count), I watched three hours in a row tonight and my eyes are still uncrossing. Everybody knows the old saw about television being the opiate of the masses (opium must flourish in vast wastelands). But when exactly did TV’s drug […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[424],"tags":[851],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-lost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/09\/lost-dark.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":580,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-january-10-2007\/","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":0},"title":"The Dork Report for January 10, 2007","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"How much do Lost fans not know? IGN's Top 50 Lost Loose Ends (no longer online: tv.ign.com\/articles\/745\/745595p1.html). (spotted on TV Squad) (no longer online: tvsquad.com\/2006\/11\/27\/ign-lists-the-top-50-lost-mysteries)","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2027,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/lost-in-the-matrix\/","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":1},"title":"Cool Like Dickens: Lost in The Matrix","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Now that the Lost fiasco finale has come and gone, and my blood pressure has dipped back down into safe levels, I am going to attempt to speak calmly about how the show let me down. Yes, I am aware that it is just a TV program, and there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "TV"","block_context":{"text":"TV","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/tv\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":865,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark\/","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":2},"title":"They don’t make PG movies anymore like Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"In order to catch up on the overwhelming backlog of movies I intend to cover here on this blog, this blogger is forced to cover Raiders of the Lost Ark with only a few disconnected observations: The 2008 DVD reissues of the classic Indiana Jones trilogy have terribly designed menus;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Raiders of the Lost Ark","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2023,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/lost-the-end\/","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":3},"title":"Lost: The End","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I've always been a Lost apologist, at least liking the show even during its weak points. Six years of goodwill very nearly went out the window along with my television, thanks to its extremely frustrating final run of episodes. Close to the end, I attempted to resolve myself to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost-finale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost-finale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost-finale.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost-finale.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/lost-finale.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-city-of-lost-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":4},"title":"La Cit\u00e9 des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children)","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"After having my mind blown by Delicatessen in college, I managed to catch The City of Lost Children in the 1995 Cambridge, England film festival. Any bits of my brain left over were blown out again.","rel":"","context":"In "5 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"5 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/5-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The City of Lost Children","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/city-of-lost-children.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/city-of-lost-children.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/city-of-lost-children.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/city-of-lost-children.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/city-of-lost-children.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8965,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-beatles-were-the-right-thing-at-the-right-time-and-place-in-beatles-64\/","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":5},"title":"The Beatles were the right thing at the right time and place, in Beatles ’64","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As long as The Four Lads From Liverpool LLC Inc. \u00a9 \u2122 remains a commercial entity expected to release new product every year, and the amount of unreleased material in the vaults is approaching zero, it's easy to dismiss David Tedeschi & Martin Scorsese's Beatles '64 as a cynical attempt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beatles '64","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/beatles-64.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7798,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions\/7798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Invasion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n