So long, and thanks for the fish.

[theactordavid]

Without question the LOST franchise has grown meteorically over the last two years, mostly in the last few months. From an intriguing little diversion on prime time television to the whole interactive game, complete with countless web sites (fake and not), literature (mostly fake, it would appear) - well, it's just almost too much. And it turns out there is a whole enormous amount of nearly-undetectable material as well.

I mean, the backwards-talking tlaW was one thing. Now we find out there's all these whispers, many subliminal, recorded at different speeds on different tracks of the sound. It takes all but a recording professional with high-tech equipment to reverse-engineer it. Add to this - for just one other example - the whole hansofoundation.org website, with it's Shockwave pages you have to download, decompile in Adobe Acrobat Professional......

Well, my point is it has become an enormous inside joke. If you don't have all the resources available to you (time and extensive computer skills being arguably the two most luxurious, and of which I have a limited amount of both) then your enjoyment of the show is only slightly better than that of a viewer of Boston Legal. Now some of you will argue that the show is accessible regardless of all the "extras" the creators are throwing into it, and I say bullcrap. It's like listening to your most favorite song of all freakin' time but being able to only hear the singer and the drummer and on 8-track, while your "friend" gets to hear the whole band on CD from the original recording session tapes and audio-enhanced for super-quadrasonic sound.

Besides that, if the show is just as enjoyable without access to the plethora of extra material (whispers, website, etc) then what's the point of all of it? Either it is all important and relevant, or it is not.

Sour grapes you say? Nah. Maybe my Sprite went flat while I was waiting for my Red Herring in cream sauce. Or was it Ranch dressing? Look, I like this show, and I will continue to watch it. But I'm not going to forget the most important thing, which is that it is a piece of fiction, cleverly assembled, but in the end less important than what's for dinner, when's the rent due, the leaky roof, the overdue oil change, the overgrown lawn, my new granddaughter's first laugh, the colors of Spring, sand between my toes, the Sunday crossword, a bike ride, the first.... well, you know. Thanks for listening. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Good night, good luck, namaste, auf wiedersehen, and gesundheit.

[viva]

>--- TAD

Life, the Universe, and Everything:
Naturally, I would have to disagree with you there. I really liked this show before I joined the forum. My husband would say that I obsessed over the details and hidden clues. So I joined the forum trying to see if there were other nerds like me who really appreciated the exceptionally high quality of entertainment this program offered.

I was relieved to find that this place was full of people just as excited as me about being home on a Wednesday night. However, in reading everything that the forum has to offer I think I have too much information now. I think I liked it better when I thought it was just a really good tv show. Sometimes I focus too hard on trying to find clues that I glaze over the point behind the story actually being told.

The show is awesome (for a tv show)! The interactive mumbo-jumbo is too much for me. That stuff is for kids that IM, and ipod, and can do things with a computer that I don't even understand. In other words, what I am trying to say is that I am walking away from all the extras so that I can enjoy the show again.

No, tv isn't at the top of my priority list. I do, however, enjoy watching LOST.

AND... I think it is delicious fun to visit the Tail Section to comment, whine, debate, argue, or whatever over the contents and events inside each episode.

[theactordavid]

Originally Posted by viva

In other words, what I am trying to say is that I am walking away from all the extras so that I can enjoy the show again.

That's really my point, but I needed to use a few more words.

BTW - nice color scheme. It's Burger King, right?

TAD
<|:{`

[viva]

Do you want fries with that?

[viva]

Zaphod, sometimes I can't tell which of your heads is talking.

Seriously though, I hate burger king.
And yeah, some people take the show way too seriously. For haeaven's sake there are new thread everyday for crap that I will never care about. I thought I over analyze stuff, but these kids take it to a whole 'nother level.

So I feel your pain. But you can bet your sweet @$$ that I will tune in tonight, turn around, and post my thoughts afterwards!