If the show’s premiere failed and ABC canceled Lost early into its first season, what would have been the final episode of the show? Also I wonder how the show would fair in the ensuing years as a “canceled too soon” series!
shareYeah, I can see it being on a lot of 'cancelled too soon' lists since at that point it wasn't clear for everyone yet that the writers didn't have a coherent explanation for anything.
shareit would've been a great what-if show instead of whatever the hell we got. Even today, season 1 is highly respected despite the show's reputation
shareLookup ABC's follow up shows like that Alien/Hurricane invasion series, the "V" reboot,or the other Alt-Timescape series set in LA. All 3 had compelling premises but didn't last for a second season.
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Lots of what ifs in that scenario. Lindelof had only written 6 episodes at that point and presumably shot less so its really anyone's guess how many more they would have aired.
shareIf the show had been cancelled during season 1, it would have gone down as one of the biggest disasters in the history of network television. The pilot episode cost between $10-$14 million, and other episodes were very expensive. And ABC marketed their entire fall line up around Lost and Desperate Housewives. If either had been so bad that they were cancelled mid-season, then that would have been a disaster that ABC would still be feeling.
shareIt would have been over after season two at least, had the ABC execs insisted on resolving the mystery as they did for Twin Peaks.
Luckily for LOST, they learned from their Twin Peaks mistake.
It is interesting how compared to Twin Peaks, Lost still had a purpose after its first overarching mystery (ie how will they get off the island) was revealed
shareFunny you should mention AFTER they got off the island. I barely watched the program the first 3 years, but was familiar enough with the show. Then when I finally settled down to watch the season 3 recap, then the final episode that followed, I was completely sucked in by the "flash forward" at the end where Kate and Jack were shown back home. I thought that was a brilliant move and I was completely hooked from that point on.
I'll mention one thing about Twin Peak's: the story had a lot of mystery in it's DNA besides "who killed Laura Palmer," but since the other elements were not brought into focus earlier, after the murder was wrapped up, there was no hook to keep a lot of viewers involved. While Lynch laments that Laura Palmer's killer was revealed, Mark Frost laments that they didn't get other storylines going before the reveal to maintain audience interest.
I think of both Twin Peaks and LOST as bardo journeys. I think Abrams saw this bardo journey both in Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive. Then he, Damon Lindelof, Cuse et al, were going for that with LOST. But that's just me.
Abrams fought for LOST -- when appealing to ABC execs and using Twin Peaks as an example -- as told by Lindelof here: (How Twin Peaks inspired Lost and The Leftovers): https://ew.com/tv/2017/05/03/twin-peaks-podcast-lost-leftovers-damon-lindelof/
It's an interesting read.
Yeah, Season 3’s finale is my favorite episode of the series and might have been a more brilliant way to end the show than the actual finale. The idea that Jack gets them rescued and he doesn’t end up with Kate and he wants to fly planes hoping they will crash because he is so desperate to get back to the island but never can return would be the most bittersweet yet fulfilling ending for the show.
shareYou say bittersweet, I'd say the cruelest unresolved cliffhanger since the end of -- you guessed it -- Season 2 of Twin Peaks.
Leaving Jack in that state would haunt viewers for ages.
Not to mention, we'd never know WHO Jack and Kate were talking about, who else escaped from the island, etc.
So cruel.
Cruel but yet something that would keep viewers guessing for years and always wanting to literally “go back” and watch the show over and over again.
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