Lessons from ABC's "Lost" - PART ONE

I'd have to say that in the past few years, I've pretty much sworn off TV shows altogether. Why, you ask? Perhaps I've either gotten a lot pickier in my "older" years (I'm only 26, so that is a pretty weird excuse) or maybe it's TV that has lowered its standards? Well I'll save that lovely topic for a much longer posting, as I have MUCH TO SAY =)

Other than HBO drama series like "Sopranos," "Big Love," and "Tell Me You Love Me," I really have turned my nose at every concoction attempted by the networks. I have to say that the show "Lost" really grabbed my attention like no other series has in years - but I admit it's mostly just the first three seasons I'm thinking of. The character development concepts were what really jerked my attention in the initial storyline, particularly by the style of storytelling via flashbacks (and only in brief sections).

The whole painting of good v. evil (very gray instead of black v. white) fascinated me. As a writer myself, I LOVED to see other people's reactions about certain characters. I have to say that as far as strong characters go, Sawyer was my hands-down favorite ... of course, until they turned him into a PG-rated character with dumb jokes and an overly done jump out of his old character. From the first get-go, I LOVED that Sawyer was so despicable, so "bad." Before the end of my career, I hope to successfully create a "bad guy everyone loves to hate." When I saw the first few episodes of season 1, I absolutely hated Sawyer. But whatever I thought of him stuck around in me so much, it drove up so many negative feelings, that it completely fascinated me to analyze my own reaction. So I find it so interesting to talk to friends who STILL hate his character on the show!

One of the most incredible things I learned from watching the early seasons of "Lost" is the ways that we writers can effectively draw in readers with mystery. It's so incredible the way their writers intentionally played off several types of audiences' assumptions about characters based solely on their background, physical appearance, family social status, ethnicity, and what they do for a living. In particular, Sun was my favorite surprise at the beginning of season 2 - especially because I also come from an Asian background, I can easily see the assumption that she is the dutiful daughter and wife. But her acts of manipulation, her many secrets reveal that you never know what she is capable of. And they do this same kind of flip with other characters as well, and I enjoy that a lot.

Stay tuned for later thoughts and comments on storytelling/plot lessons from "Lost."