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As someone who writes to get readers to do something for a living, and as a screenwriter in a previous life, I can tell you that the writers on “Lost” have no idea how to 
pay off on all the storylines they’ve opened.
Pay attention, becuase this, like nearly everything else I write on this blog, is a marketing/advertising/sales lesson –whether it is overtly labeled as such or not. Remember the isomorphic metaphors I introduced you to last fall, okay?
Due to constant commentary about missing plot threads, the inconsistent continuity from one episode to the next, The Redhead, in a very Al Gore-like moment of magnanimous absolution — has granted me a “Lost offset.”
I’ve been declared “Lost neutral” and no longer have to bite my tongue until blood spurts out.
I no longer am expected to suffer through some of the most slip-shod, paper-thin storylines on TV today. And given shows like “Two And A Half Men”, “Til Death” and whatever other “Everyone Loves Raymond” plotless clone out there — that’s saying something.
Here’s why I think “Lost” is still found by so many people — it’s hypnosis, pure and simple. It’s Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) at it’s most common denominator — creating ongoing curiosity that never gets sated.
In NLP we call them “open loops.” Unfinished stories. Unanswered questions within those stories. And as you’ve noticed with “Lost” if they pay-off on a previously open loop, they’ve already opened several more.
My personal favorite and the moment the show made it to my kick list: the island’s defense system. What was it? In season one, it appeared to be a carnivorous dinosaur tall enough to pluck the co-pilot from the open cockpit of the downed jetliner that was hanging 60 feet off the ground. But wait . . .
. . . later on it could be the anomalous polar bear (height inconsistency notwithstanding) . . . but wait . . .
. . . in season 2 it was a wisp of sentient smoke . . .
. . . but wait, it’s actually the island’s defense system! Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Wee-Haa! They’re so “lost” they’ll never be found!
Then it disappears from mention altogether.
I couldn’t find the quote in time for this post, but somewhere during season 2, Stephen King was pretty pissed off and said this about the show, ‘I would like to see it get canceled just so the writers would be forced to pay off on all the storylines they opened up and never closed.’
Sounds just like open loops, doesn’t it?
Here’s another King article where he is a bit kinder to the show: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1100673,00.html
Like what you read? Then click here to buy me a coffee.
By Walter |
Topics: From The Trenches, Pro Analysis |
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pay off on all the storylines they’ve opened.