I watched the premeire of Alcatraz last night and was reasonably entertained. It seems like a sci-fi/procedural hybrid, but of course this early on it's sort of hard to tell where the show's going or even if it's going anywhere at all.
Even though I like it so far, I'm trying not to get too attached because I'm a little hesitant that it might just be the next in a line of "Lost successors" that don't live up to the hype. To be fair, I've been anointing a fair share of recent sci-fi type shows as "the next Lost" (especially if they feature warping through time and/or space, islands, or polar bears) only to be disappointed or, at the very least, not amazed. Some shows that come to mind are Flash Forward, the Event, and Terra Nova. Though I enjoyed those on various levels, they just couldn't live up to what Lost was for me.
I came to the realization that to a certain extent, Lost ruined other shows for me. Let me back up a little bit.
Lost was really my first serious relationship with a tv show. I had seen Veronica Mars before, but that came after that series was over. We had an understanding of what our relationship would be before we even started. No miscommunication or anything. With Lost, I started up right before the beginning of its last season. At the time, I was also seeing Heroes, but honestly our relationship had gone so far south, I knew it was only a matter of time before it was over. Luckily, I didn't have to do the breaking up as the series just got cancelled.
Lost was totally different from those two. I feel like I just expected so much more. For most of seasons 1-5, it was super compelling and seemed to always have something new and intriguing to keep me watching. But during season 6, I sensed things were changing with us. Would my questions get answered? Why did things feel so different?
But Lost assured me it wasn't the case. Everything would be fine in the end. It hadn't changed at all, everything was the same as before. And so I believed Lost. I made plans about our future and the full series blu-ray set we'd have together.
Then the finale happened and I realized the misgivings I had were for real. Our relationship ended and I didn't feel satisfied. In fact, I felt kind of duped. Having said this, I realize that many people saw Lost for 6 years, while my relationship only lasted 6 months. I also realize that many people were satisfied with how it ended. Let me just say that while that's all well and good, I, fairly or not, had higher expectations for our relationship. I expected there to be a light bulb moment, but got something that felt more like a cop out.
And that, in my typical long-winded, rambling fashion, is why I can't trust tv shows anymore. Lost hurt me and I'm afraid to give my heart to another.
Oh sure, I've seen my fair share of shows since then. But I haven't really been able to engage with a show like I did with Lost. There's really no theorycrafting, no browsing forums looking for the latest updates and thoughts. I just watch in a kind of dumb way, seeking entertainment and nothing more.
But with JJ Abrams, a mysterious island, and Jorge Garcia, maybe Alcatraz will be the one that turns me around. Maybe this one can understand what I've been through. But for now, Lost will be my great white buffalo.
By the way, meant to write about the Bachelor in here...but didn't want to make it too long. It's coming later, maybe.
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