They've lost me

I liked the pilot of Lost. I even liked the first one and a half seasons. The plot (or lack of one) started to get contrived and annoying, but hey... I can forgive bad plot more than the next guy, so I kept watching. The 2nd season wasn't all bad: they introduced my favorite character in the short history of the show... Mr. Eko. His origin story in the 2nd season was possibly the best episode of the entire series. It's been my favorite at least. Well-written, well-directed, and very compelling.

[3rd SEASON SPOILER WARNING!] Well, I don't know why but they killed Mr. Eko 2 weeks ago. Right there, you've lost me. He was underused since his introduction and had little to no screen time in Season 3. Solution? Let's have an episode focus on him and his past and then kill him with a giant and seemingly sentient cloud of black smoke.

I mean, seriously? Are you guys just making this stuff up as you go along?

Don't get me wrong... I love JJ Abrams' work. I'll watch anything he writes, directs, etc. Alias was awesome (at least for the first 1/2 of the series) and MI3 was the best of that franchise. Damon Lindeloff too... his short run so far on Marvel's Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk has been incredible, although I wish they'd release issue #3 already. It's been several months since #2 came out.

Lost as a show has become sub-standard, and no longer lives up to it's own rep. Viewers now have shows like Heroes and Battlestar Galactica, shows where questions are answered and new ones are posed so that the story can move forward. Even 24 doesn't linger on a problem for more than a single season. It's necessary to keep everyone's interest!

I'm sorry to say that even the Losties that I work with have jumped on the anti-Lost band-wagon. It's almost hip these days to harsh on Lost. Maybe the 90 day break between new episodes will help that (you decide whether I'm being sarcastic here or not).

And that Season 3 mid-season finale cliffhanger? Not a cliffhanger. I don't think you'll find anyone who would say "I can't wait to find out what happens next," and it certainly did not make me yearn for February when the show returns.

Now the Alias season 2 or Battlestar Galactica season 2 finales! That's how you do cliffhangers!

Fall Season 2006

New shows that I watch regularly (ie. they're good): Heroes, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock.

New shows that I checked out for a spell but then dropped: Jericho, Justice, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Standoff, Kidnapped, Vanished, Six Degrees, the Nine.

The rest of my current Season Pass list: Prison Break, Veronica Mars, Bones, Lost, My Name Is Earl, Grey's Anatomy, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, SNL, The Simpsons, Family Guy.

Addicted to reruns: M*A*S*H*, Scrubs.

Mouring the loss of: Arrested Development.

Friday Night Lights - Tues. 8pm, NBC

Not enough of you are watching this show. Personally, I think it's one of the best new shows of the season (the best being Heroes, but I won't get into that now), and from what I read recently it's in danger of being cancelled.

It's on Tuesdays at 8pm on NBC. Give it a shot. If you liked the movie of the same name, you'll like this show. You don't even have to like football (but it helps). The character of Matt Saracen should be enough to get you to come back week after week.

Don't let good TV go to waste. And let's face it, Veronica Mars isn't on till 9pm, so you've got an hour to kill.

UPDATE: Friday Night Lights has been moved to Wednesdays at 8pm on NBC starting January 2007.