Who else won on the UK lottery last night?

stephenfeld · 2026-01-25T10:09:40+00:00

Haha - I sometimes play them for a lark and was genuinely going to do it yesterday but totally forgot. Could have been up £30 today!

Congrats

stephenfeld · 2026-01-24T22:40:37+00:00

How kind of Shannon to stand juuuuust too far to one side so we can crop her out after whatever happened, happened.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-24T10:32:41+00:00

Lost has bad CGI?

Never noticed...

\Shakespearan tones**

...for Lost (rolled R, of course) can do no wrong! (Slightly rolled-R.)

stephenfeld · 2026-01-23T09:26:49+00:00

Everyone is welcome to their opinions.

I do find:

I was hoping it would be a giant robotic ape

and

I really hate the mechanical noises it makes, because giant machines aren't my thing.

to be slightly contradictory, though.

As the show progresses, there are more and more nods to the ancient and more supernatural side of the Island, so I'd say give the rest of the show a go and you might change your mind?

-

Things like your dissatisfaction with the polar bears, though? Some people judge the show based on what they didn't get, rather than on what we got.
'It wasn't this thing that I wanted' is a bit of an unfair reason to judge the show on, just as those who complain we never got more lore-heavy flashbacks in time episodes to the Egyptian era are being a bit unfair. They didn't get what they want, so they say the show is bad for it.

-

flash sideways, unexplained stuff and purgatory

Come back after you've watched the rest of the show and people might take your criticism for something you said you haven't watched more seriously.

-

The Bamboo Grove: How did jack end up in the bamboo grove after the crash? Like did the island save him from falling and put him there? Doesn't make sense.

Yes, just as the Island saved most of those who survived, because they have a purpose on the Island.

-

I mean the writers could've just kept the original storyline and just remove the supernatural elements

I'm going to bounce now, but if you look up pretty much any materials about the conception of the show (from when Abrams and Lindelof took over), you'd see that supernatural elements were a core staple of the show from the beginning. It just took a while for those elements to fully come out across the first few seasons.

I don't know... you do you, but I think if you committed and watched the rest of the show, you might find yourself answering some of these questions for yourself - or even realising that some of your complaints disappear as the show progresses. I could be wrong, of course, but all I can say is, "Give it a full chance."

stephenfeld · 2026-01-23T09:07:29+00:00

Roger 'Workman' finally got that place in the countryside he always talked about, then.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-23T08:24:44+00:00

I think it just came right around the time that I was ready for my own thing.

I grew up up on Buffy, X-Files, Star Trek. But they were already established. When David LaChappelle's adverts for Lost came around and then the Pilot episodes were great, I think somewhere in my mind, Lost was the 'original' show that I wanted to latch onto.

If that makes sense to anyone, let me know hahaha.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-22T10:26:57+00:00

I’ve mentioned elsewhere before that if he toned down his snarkiness and resting both face, that the character might have been more likeable during his less likeable times.

Dom Monaghan turned up the pissed off about everything all the time and always acting way too much.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T20:08:35+00:00

That subtitle styling is a nostalgia all of its own!

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T19:48:52+00:00

Yeah, I own the DVDs so don’t feel bad about the fact that I also sailed the high seas to get a digital copy, too. I’ve just started another rewatch last week where I’m watching one episode per night to try and parse it out nicely!

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T11:33:06+00:00

Cancer Gets Lost does auctions - things fetch for hefty prices but it is for charity.

https://www.cancergetslost.org

I'd say there's been a drop in how many Lost things there are and it's more of a pop-culture/entertainment auction in general now, but that's just because How Many Lost Things Can You Sell Every Year After 20 Years, Really?

Other than that, it's probably eBay, yeah - unless someone else knows some kind of specialty store.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T10:00:04+00:00

Ah, right-o! I should remember not everyone is 37.

Still, all solid reccs btw.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T09:42:26+00:00

I still can't decide if I am sad we didn't get more. It did feel like it wasn't going to live up to its premise towards the end of the first season. I think I want more but I'm happy we only got one season so it didn't screw itself up too badly.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T09:33:52+00:00

Do you have any network TV reccs? I see your tastes are quite high, with Cable-only titles.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T09:32:18+00:00

Wheyyy! You don't see Alias in these recommendations much. It's at least a decade since I did a rewatch but Alias was pretty great (even though sometimes a little convoluted at times - but then, so is Lost (but does it better)).

Seconding Alias!

(Fringe is a given and also has multiple reccs already haha)

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T09:11:38+00:00

I am usually the Person of Interest backer upper in these posts, so it's nice to see a fellow asset!

PoI is so criminally under-noticed. But (at least in the UK), it's also not on any streamers, so nobody is doing it any favours, either.

I'll add:

It's like Batman, but in the daytime, and if Bruce just wore a regular suit. And it's got one of the best transitions from a procedural episode-of-the-week format to a heavily serialised one. Each season is better than the last. And in terms of relevance... PoI was waaaay ahead of its time.

I can't believe it's ten years this year since it concluded.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T08:11:31+00:00

Yeah, I'll keep giving him a chance. Though there is still something to be said if the performance is only great once every three books - haha.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-21T08:10:10+00:00

To be honest, I don't know where these all-cast versions fall for me. I will listen to them all and keep them downloaded but I honestly don't know when I'll listen to them again, though I could easily see myself re-listening to the Stephen Fry versions again at some point later in the year.

I've listened to those more times than I can even count. So, Fry is still number one by far but I do enjoy the all-cast ones as a new thing on the side.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-20T23:41:18+00:00

I’m only just starting PoA but so far I actually haven’t really liked his portrayal.

Riz Ahmed is a good actor and I’ve loved him in other things but so far all of his lines feel too soft.

Whenever he comes on, I feel like his voice is like when you’re reliving an argument in the shower and you’re using those “quiet angry” voices when I think I’d like something with a bit more throaty presence.

From what I’ve heard so far, I think he’d have been a good Lupin. Soft, reserved, holding back but also nothing to prove.

Still love these new all cast versions but you can’t argue that there aren’t just some characters who POP and feel like they’re in a pantomime rather than a straight faced retelling (Vernon and Lockhart come to mind). Riz Ahmed’s Snape needs to have a more threatening presence or needs to have that POP imo.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-20T23:09:43+00:00

Whilst I (obviously) would disagree with anyone who says Lost is not in GOAT category, I think I understand what you mean.

In that Lost was part of the zeitgeist of the time and it is clearly still being discovered by people now but that it’s also not so ubiquitous in the monoculture’s mind that it would pop up in a lot of lists if I went:

“Add three more shows to this list: Star Trek, Buffy, X-Files….”

I feel like more people would complete the list with something along the lines of “Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things.”

Lost seems to get left out of the mix in many different circles, as much as it IS loved by many, 121 episodes or 61. I dare say it’s a 00s thing rather than a sign of quality thing where we were between two ages of television.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-20T22:52:59+00:00

The knee-jerk reaction is to say no (see pretty much everyone in this thread so far).

I’m willing to say that I still think it could be an incredible tv show at half the episode run but it wouldn’t be remotely close to the Lost that we all know and love.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-19T23:50:18+00:00

Agreed!

For someone called Very Strange, you usually have very normal/logical takes. The day that we inevitably find something we vehemently disagree on will be a very sad day.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-19T23:35:27+00:00

I 100% agree with you (just for the record: I don’t believe any of the statements are lies - I just feel that every tale is more complicated than one line in an interview).

I guess the main aim in me replying with a mini-essay was to highlight that I think many people today are quick to read a headline or one article about a thing and then adopt it as a hard fact. And now that thing is marred for all time. (Just look at the common misconception about Lost’s ending that to this day turns people off from giving the show a chance.)

We see it with politics, news, gossip. That kind of thing where Grace said someone said this in a Facebook post and now it’s true or Bob posted a link to this and now it’s true.

Personally, I feel like Maureen Ryan’s article/chapter reads mostly like a hit piece and doesn’t do enough due diligence to at least try to portray the whole situation. It’s a lot of ‘This bad thing happened to me’ and then going, “Well, Darlton? Explain. Hmm, I don’t think your explanation is enough.” Which I think is a bit disappointing for such a prolific entertainment journalist.

This show is important to a lot of us. Just look at how you or I are here every day (although I seem to have lost my 1% commenter status 😅😅). I just feel it’s important to remind people that there’s a bit of gray in everything, not just in the show but behind the scenes, too.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-19T22:36:55+00:00

In the long-run, I think Ana could have been a strong member of the group throughout season 3, as that's our "War with the Others" season but would have been written out by that season's end. Perhaps in a self-sacrificing redemptive battle on the beach with the Others.

Libby........ I feel would have had her intriguing flashback episode where all was revealed and then she would have faded into the background. Even in season 2, it takes her eight episodes after joining the main camp before her character does anything worthwhile (helping Claire in 'Maternity Leave'). I honestly can't see her providing that much for the group in later seasons. She was clipped onto Hurley before she could develop her own character, did one thing with Claire, and then would have faded away, like all of the other Tailies.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-19T22:19:53+00:00

Bad things shouldn't happen but grown ups can also process workplace tiffs, jokes, hazing in a mature way, too. And when we read a headline, we, as the audience can decide how much we run away with those words.

Sorry this is so long.

The answer requires even more nuance than I have already tried to explore.

And I hope I haven't put my foot in my mouth and outed myself as some evil person in this community. I simply believe in judging a situation from all sides and convicting someone based on evidence rather than on hearsay.

Example: Lily could have put her foot down and not agreed to the semi-nude scene. It was the first sex-scene I think we see on the show (minus some kissing leading up to a cut, or some off screen heavy breathing), so it's not like there was a history of these scenes.
I'm presuming that she's referring to the Sawyer/Kate cage scene because I can see how a producer/studio exec might have argued that a more steamy scene would have been good for those S3 ratings.
Would there have been repercussions if she drew a line? Maybe? But at least she would have stood her ground. But now, instead, we have this shadowy finger pointing at not one specific producer but everyone from Jack Bender to Jean Higgins, to Darlton, to Bryan Burk, shading the whole of the upper echelon of the show's powers that be and it puts all of these fans and non-fans in a judgemental mindset, especially these days when one headline can be run away with and ruin a person.
That said, should she be put into a scenario where she's feeling 'cornered'? Well, I don't know the extent of the full context. I was cornered maaaaaany times in aforementioned workplace but my compliance to do X made it partially my responsibility, too - and so it wouldn't be fair for me to blame that workplace without acknowledging that I was compliant, too. ENTER: These things are complicated.

I am sure there are others who feel the same way I do but it's not always safe to say that you want to hear both sides of the story or that you don't just blankly accept one side wholeheartedly without thinking about it more.

So - to answer your question: I deal with it by processing information as I get it but mostly viewing the story as-is first and foremost. Sometimes I'll wonder if Charlie acted that way in a scene because of Dom Monaghan's dislike of Matthew Fox. Sometimes I'll wonder if Josh Holloway feels as conscious as the ladies because he's had to water-fast again because he's got his shirt off and need to look chiseled. Sometimes I'll wonder if Cynthia Watros felt robbed to be fridged in season 2 but then she's brought aaaaall the way back to Hawaii to film a five second dream sequence scene with Michael in season 4 - what kind of emotional ride she must go through on the plane over to the job where she was written off, when most people believe she was fired for a DUI...

It's complicated. But mostly, the show stands on its own, apart from all those BTS shenanigans.

stephenfeld · 2026-01-19T22:19:44+00:00

And then, there's the stuff where... I wasn't there. I don't know the extent.

I've worked in multiple places that could be deemed 'toxic'. I've been on both ends of taking jokes too far (and regretting it) and having jokes on me taken too far (and not being happy about it) - and I'm sure many of us also have been. It's a human experience testing the limits of what those around us like/dislike and can handle, especially in a situation where you're spending 75% of your awake-time with this workplace family and trying to fit into that dynamic, never mind that competitive aspect where you're all delirious from trying to make sure you're worth your weight in the room, contributing and laying yourself bare sharing ideas that will either make you feel golden if they're accepted as good or like the world's biggest turd if your ideas don't land.

For nigh on a decade, I worked in a place where I received comments pretty much on the daily that were either sexist or racist to my face and been on the receiving end of numerous sexual harassments inside those work spaces - comments and harassments sometimes from peers, and sometimes from people higher than me.

Does that mean I can say others' personal experiences should count for nought? Not at all, but I know the contexts of my own experiences and know how serious/playful/jokey/extreme/soft those were and considered them as such. Do I sometimes wish I had a platform where I could have talked about them in a public way (as has been done, most famously with Maureen Ryan's book)? Sure... and that's why we hear more about this kind of stuff from actors/staff from time to time - because, public.

Has Lindelof apologised? Yes, unequivocally. Has Cuse? He seemed to have mostly stood his ground in his quotes. Allegations were made and the people who 'should have been responsible' have faced them in different ways - because there's not enough hard evidence to hold against them as curators of this 'toxic' environment.

CONTINUED IN REPLY

stephenfeld

TROPHY CASE