Re [rey] Watch [woch] -- LOST

Rewatch 
Verb  
1. To watch [LOST] again.

My Christmas preparation was ahead of schedule this year. Apart from baking cookies and cakes for family and friends, I have been quite stress-free. Since I was not overly excited about Christmas this year, I have been channeling my energy by clearing the backlog of my to-do list, that is, to rewatch Lost. This mission has been on my to-do list for a long time, probably since its series finale.

Calling myself a writer is like writing myself as a prophet. I haven't earned the title as a writer, but I am working on it. As someone who admire the craft of story-telling and everything else that comes with the package, I find television and books shows such as Lost, Supernatural and A Game of Thrones [A Song of Ice and Fire] really help me to identity and understand the craft of structures, characterization, plots and dialogues. This is more than watching something when I get home, this is more than picking up a book to read before bed, this is like going to writing school for me. 

For something so big such as Lost, Supernatural and A Game of Thrones, watching/ reading them once is not possible because there are a lot of details I may or may not notice the first time. Rewatch is imperative so that I can pay attention to the specifics, understand the mythology and absorb information better, put the pieces together and appreciate the mysteries and writings more. The rewatch is actually more enjoyable and meaningful than the first time.

As you know, Lost is one of my favorite television shows. The only sleeper season for me was season three. Perhaps it was due to the TV schedule or I was spending a ridiculous amount of time living in a suitcase, I lost the momentum a bit until the introduction of Team Faraday. By The Constant, I was fully on board as a fan once again. I love Daniel Faraday and Desmond Hume, I think they were a great addition to the show and I LOVE the flash sideway. Their roles were vital to the development of show. I really like the fact that Lost mixed fringe science, mythology and 'magic' together. It is one of those shows you can go crazy with theories and debate them for years. It's intense viewing, it makes you think, you do get lost amongst details but it's part of solving the mysteries. 

It is almost impossible for me not to revisit Lost from the beginning, because there are so much in it! Lost has such a big assemble cast, if I focus each rewatch based on a character or a timeline -- Dharma Initiative, Faraday, Desmond, Sawyer or Jacob, Dogen -- that's at least six times already. Every time I watch it I discover something new. Like Sawyer, he was never my favorite, but I always saw him as a reluctant hero. He was the cowboy, rules didn't apply to him. He didn't have to explain himself. 

I am half way through season two, Benjamin Linus just appeared as Henry Gale. I know things will get interesting! I love Ben! I love that he is not the classic villain and it took four seasons for me to like him because he is simply a WTF character. Ben never failed to surprise me and it gets funny when everyone punch him in the face. Ouch! I have very little memory of what happened in season three, Ben obviously played a huge part in driving the show from that point onwards. Not to mention the whole adversary thing between him and Widmore; the role of Richard, the Others and Dharma Initiative etc... I think season three was the start to something more epic. To me, the tail section arc was good, but I think season three was the turning point. Can't wait to rewatch it as I have missed out a lot of details.

Speaking of the Dharma Initiative, I always find it and their stations intriguing. I love the mysteries around them and when we got to know more about the Dharma Initiative in later seasons, I just couldn't get enough of them. I must be in the minority to like the Dharma Initiative storyarc. I even want to re-label all things in my house including a banana with the Dharma stickers. Revisit reminds me about what I love about the show. How something like the Dharma Initiative and Jacob are integrated and developed into the the show. 

Lost is one of a kind! Half the shows on televisions are the same. Some shows play safe because the networks know these shows cannot go wrong as long as they stick to the familiar formula, they are the 'ever-green' genre. These shows will always attract the tradition viewers and advertisers. It's the cash flow! Only a handful of shows may risk it or try hard to be different every now and then, but then when rating fails or storyline doesn't work, the show is gone before you have the chance to like it. And sometimes you wonder why crap like reality TV shows or Neighbors are still wasting air time (but hey, they are part of the economy!) Whether you like Lost or not, the show is indeed one of a kind, we haven't seen shows like Lost before and we never will again. I for one can watch it again and again and be reminded how great the story and characters were. Lost will continue to take me to writing school forever. 

I hope in coming weeks or months, I will write more about Lost. I simply haven't blogged about this show enough when it was on air! Supernatural rewatch is a regular thing for me, so I really don't have to set aside a separate for it. But I really need to rewatch Revolution and A Game of Thrones before March. Now that I have Glee and Once Upon A Time as Christmas presents, I need to rewatch them too.

At least I know I won't be bored during any up-coming hiatus! 

Well.. that's all folks...for now!