TV Squad reader Bebop sent along a link to a TIME article about how Lost changed television. It's an interesting read, but I don't really agree with most of it. To start, I think they are giving Lost way too much credit. People have had this idea that Lost changed TV before. That led to millions of dollars being spent to make Surface, Invasion, and Threshold. And where are they now? A lot of the things attributed to Lost in the article strike me as optimistic at best, completely wrong at worst. For instance, they talk about how in 2004 "procedurals reigned". The idea being that somehow Lost cracked that nut. Well here we are in 2006, and in last week's top 20 shows you will find all three CSI's, two Law & Orders, Without A Trace, and Cold Case. And to add to this, compare the ratings for a repeat of CSI to those of a repeat Lost episode. It's not even close. Lost hasn't changed much in that regard.
The article also glosses over what I think may become an important part of the Lost story. It mentions how serials tend to bleed viewers as the casual fans leave, but never acknowledges that Lost spent most of last season doing just that. Sure, the show does have a devoted and active Internet fanbase, but big ratings numbers don't come from the Internet fanbase. There may be something to the argument that Idol played a role in those falling ratings, but that remains to be seen. 
The subject of downloads and DVDs comes up as well. Now, I get that Lost is moving some disks and selling some episodes for Apple. The thing is, that is nothing that is uniquely Lost. The first TV show I ever purchased, on VHS no less, was the X-Files. And if you want to stick to the more modern DVD sets of seasons, there are plenty of shows with just as much, or more, claim to building that market. Look at what Firefly did. Or better yet, Buffy. You can get each season seperately, a complete collection, or special theme collections. And both of those were selling like hotcakes before that Oceanic plane ever crashed.
Lost hasn't managed to corner the download market either. The Office does very well with their download sales. But that doesn't mean that they have reinvented or changed the sitcom. It just means that they are doing a good job, and The Office's fans like the convenience of the downloaded episodes, just as Lost fans do.
And in the end, that's my point. I'm not trying to put the boots to Lost or to say that they've got it all wrong. However, I think we need to stop short of blowing all that smoke up their asses. Lost is a very good show, and it has the potential to be a classic. It is still far too early to call though.
Getting back to those ratings, if you really want to talk about a show changing television I see two other directions that make much more sense. As I mentioned before, the fact that there are seven procedurals in the Top 20 says a lot. And it would serve as a good starting point for an article on how Law & Order changed TV. Or, consider that Dancing with the Stars is now two top 20 shows, and Survivor a permanent fixture on the list. Couple that with the fact that when Idol returns it will retake the top spot. There is your case for how Survivor changed TV.
The new season of Lost starts Wednesday, October 4th.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-28-2006 @ 2:36PM
Malfoy Roark said...
24 changed TV, Lost did not.
What JJ did with Lost I compared to what Jackson did with King Kong. They tried applying some of the things that might have been questionable but made them famous with one project and apply to something else and ruined things. Jackson did it with way too many details and scenes that absolutely did NOT need to be in the theater verison of KK. Abrams did it by taking the cool idea of mystery and twist of Alias (which was great) and magnifying it 1000x to a point where it was just bad with Lost.
To the lost fans, I've watched every episode of Alias and I've watched every episode of Lost, so I'm not just basing this on a few episodes or what I hear at the watercooler. Abrams has 'lost' his touch.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 3:03PM
kel said...
Sorry, but LOST changed TV, or better yet, the buzz over Lost changed TV. The actual results and quality of the show are actually irrelevant. TV execs saw the buzz that was happening over Lost and said "get me one of those!" So now in this new season you have a slew of dramas with intersecting characters, mysteries, and one continuous storyline. Just look at Jericho, The Nine, Six Degrees, Vanished, Kidnapped, and Heroes. Yes, Lost changed TV (or at least this season).
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 3:18PM
Greg said...
#1, Just want to point out that Abrams had very little to do with Lost in its second year, it was mostly Lindeloff and Cuse that handled Lost's development.
Now, I love the show, and can't wait to see where it's going. But even if you don't love the show, you shouldn't blame it on Abrams.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 5:53PM
Amanda said...
I love LOST if it didn't change TV, it definatly changed MY life! That's all I have to say.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 4:05PM
superbagman said...
Malfoy, I was thinking the very same thing about 24 while I was reading this story, I'm so happy that someone else agrees with me! But JJ is totally not to blame about where Lost has ended up, I used to tell people that I thought the first 8 episodes of season 1 were some of the finest hours of TV ever produced and then it got bad. Well, I was on the internet one day and I read that JJ left Lost after the 7th or 8th episode to work on MI3...Lost's downfall made a lot of sense after that.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 4:13PM
Aaron said...
I agree that 24 changed TV as we know it.
But, what's this talk about Lost's downfall? I guess Lost will always have it's haters. But, don't worry American Idol will soon be on for all those who would rather watch that.
Aaron.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 4:22PM
aphallatosis said...
Alias had an exciting pilot episode that it rode for five years. Every episode had the exact same damn plot, get the thing from the bad guy bring it back. I watched every episode of Alias as I liked the characters that were created in that pilot episode, but the show as a whole basically sucked.
As for 24 it was fun action for the first three seasons, but is now so much more laughably unrealistic even for the 24 universe I can't go an episode without groaning and rolling my eyes. Poison gas that also has an acid in it to burn through room seals, and they monitor on their computers what percentage of the seal is left! The psycho redhead who thinks everyone is sexually harassing her. At this point it's only worth watching for the camp value, it's like an Ed Wood movie. They can't even get the action right anymore.
Lost while it had some slow episodes in the first season it's second season was perfect television, much like the late great Carnivale. Lost hasn't changed TV as we know it or anything but it definitely is the reason the serial is back.
If you watch American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, or more than one maybe two procedurals a week you are a stupid person and should have your children and/or pets taken away from you.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 4:22PM
kyle said...
lost didn't change tv, the internet changed tv. shows have created a buzz before, but that was before mass proliferation of the internet. now we have blogs and messageboards to talk about the show over, not just watercoolers
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 4:45PM
Emily said...
Sorry for being off topic, but are there going to be Lost chats this season?
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 4:46PM
superbagman said...
Aaron I am in no way a Lost hater, I tune into it whenever it's new and own the DVDs. But the story, the characters, the plot, the pace: everything about Lost, has been...off, for about a good season and a half. I will say that the last third of season 2 was pretty good (except Dave) and the finale was great.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 5:29PM
Kelsberry Crawdad said...
I sawthe very first episode... Never saw another one... It was just one of them shows I couldnt get into. Sorry
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 6:08PM
Cinesister said...
First thing I thought when I was reading this: 24 changed TV, what the hell are they talking about Lost for?
Glad I wasn't the only one having that thought. :)
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 8:47PM
Jeff said...
I'm not really sure I understand how 24 changed tv (or lost for that matter). Like Brett said, most of the networks schedules are filled with procedural shows. Maybe law and order changed the face of televison, but there were still procedural shows before it. 24 and lost have given serial dramas a greater chance of making it to air, trying to copy their success, but as we've seen few have made it.
Reply
9-29-2006 @ 11:17PM
Janiey said...
I have to agree that X-Files really started a lot of the trend, but Lost figured out a formula that seems to be working and to have broken sci-fi out of its core male group. Lost also has opened up Hollywood's eyes to how to create a web buzz, despite the tepidity of the web game over the summer. Luckily Rachel has found her dad and all is good. A site I have been following that seems to be catching on with Lostaways is at http://www.LostExposed.com/ - it has news, blog feeds, a forum with clues blog.
Reply
10-04-2006 @ 4:39PM
Janiey said...
Try to post again...
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 9:08PM
Monstromart said...
Let's see, how did 24 change tv before Lost...hmmm, I dunno, maybe because 24 was on tv THREE years before Lost came along. 24 was the show that proved that serials could be successful in the mainstream, waaaay before Lost ambled along. It really scares me how programmed the Lost fanbots are these days, it's like a cult.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 9:23PM
Jeff said...
I'm a 24 fan as well as a Lost nut, but I'm not sure 24 paved the way for Lost in any sense. 24 might have created a new and interesting format for serialized show, but its not like 24 invented the genre.
I do agree with the article's point that Lost is "post-tv" in that discussion on the web and its availibility as a download make it unlike other shows.
Reply
9-28-2006 @ 10:14PM
Mike McNamara said...
I agree that I'm not sure the Time article is entirely accurate. But though other shows may have done things similarly, Lost doing so was more important. Why?
Simple.
1st season: 16 million average viewers
2nd season: 15.5 million average viewers
As much as I've loved Alias, Buffy, and 24 -- and may even prefer all of them to Lost, they would never, ever be considered the 2nd most watched show in the world. Sure, I'm not sure how much something like that should matter when CSI Miami is considered #1 but it's still says something. My friends watch all the shows mentioned, but my grandparents and aunts and uncles watch Lost.
And that's why the things that Lost is good at or does that other shows may have also done is just lots more important because Lost did it.
Though a lot of the shows that were more direct copies of Lost may have died out last season, I think "the Lost effect" can still be seen in that networks may be more prone to try something that's unique (Ugly Betty is a good example) or isn't as worried about having to dumb stuff down as they used to be. (Remember how worried ABC was that nobody would understand Alias after the Super Bowl.)
Reply
9-30-2006 @ 6:03PM
Alex H said...
To the author. Survivor didnt change TV.
The Idol format exsisted in the UK a while before...
Reply
10-05-2006 @ 1:28AM
Blue Spider said...
Felicity paved the way for Lost more than 24 ever could.
Reply