you sure know how ot rock the boat with more lost stuff after yesterdays fun and games.

Fantastic list! I want to know why there seems to be so many copies of that picture of Desmond and Penny (Desmond, Penny and Naomi all had one), when we saw that it was taken outside by a one-shot photo vendor. Sure, copies could have been made off screen and all, but still.

Is anyone else amazed this trainwreck of a show is still going? Then again, TV is in sorry state when your other choices are Heroes, American Idol, Life According to Jim, House, 3+ hrs of CSI, or Simpsons (which is either a guest star episode or an episode pushing the writers' leftist policial agenda).

I'm just going to say that most of these are ever so slightly incorrect or not valid as they have announced they will be resolved in the next two seasons. Also stuff like the hatch looking a little different is hardly a flying dagger of truth at the writers

I enjoy this blog a lot but find this post a bit too innacurate and will just fuel the flames for people who hate the show without reaaally watching it

but hey ho everyone agrees heroes sucks so somethings are fine and dandy in the world!

Yeah, in retrospect the whole plotline that bridges Season 2 to Season 3 doesn't make a whole lotta sense... You have to figure that Ben allowed himself to get caught, right? So was the whole spiel of getting captured, getting Michael to bust him out, and leading Jack, Kate, Sawyer (and Hurley?) into a trap all just to get Jack to do the surgery on Ben? That was really the best plan he could come up with? How about just saying "we'll let Michael and Walt go if you do the surgery?" It was all fun to watch, but it's pretty obvious they made all that up as they went along, especially considering that it's known that the writers initially intended to kill Ben off, before the viewer response convinced them otherwise.

But as far as pointless plotlines, you can't get any less essential than the Shannon/Boone bullshit. Anytime I see a Season 1 episode I'm amazed I was able to sit through their Melrose Place drama. Honestly, I think they were worse than Nikki and Paulo.

Oh no, I hope nobody who's waiting for the entire series to end clicks on this link and reads four year old spoilers! :O

Definitely an entertaining list, but mostly misses the point of the whole show. Of course they are making it up as they go along. Its a TV show, that's what they do, that's just how they get made nowadays. You have to steer a show based on fan response to the cast, plots, etc.

Even more than that, dead-end storylines, loose ends and unexpected cast changes aren't proof of poor show-running. In my opinion they make the show more realistic and interesting. Don't forget that the show is really only half about unraveling the mysteries of the island. It is also half about examining the characters' personalities and how they react to the island and the way it makes them re-evaluate their past lives and future choices. This does not make the show bad, it makes it different and interesting.

There are definitely some fuck-ups, like Claire's mom and stuff like that, but considering the large cast and complexity of the story, they have done a remarkable job of keeping things consistent.

SammyC - Indeed, although that's part of the joke of the article. Of course it's being made up as it goes along - it's a TV series. And frankly, no matter what inconsistencies crop up or even if the ending ends up sucking (it's going to be hard to make something that satisfying after six seasons of build-up), I am and am going to remain a huge fan.

Proof positive that Topless Robot also mocks the shit we love in addition to the crap we don't.

I freaking love LOST!
This article was good fun and a great anticipation builder!
I can't freaking wait to be pissed off tonight at what they do and don't tell us.
We do all need to keep one thing in mind though...
No matter what they do in the next two seasons there is going to be disapointment.
You can't please all the people all the time.
I am big fan of Stephen King's Dark Tower series and it was a similiar situation there.
He ended the series in what is really the only way he could, but I don't think it's possible to be happy with any ending for anything you have gotten so much enjoyment out of.
Oh well...
Hey Rob-
What's up with a LOST live blog?

MyNosNos - Sorry, but I can't take the chance I'd miss something while typing. I like Lost waaaaay too much to not be able to give it my full attention.

Exactly. If I didn't love the show so much, I wouldn't over-analyze every detail. Can't wait 'til tonight! :)

I think LOST is actually very mapped out, more so at least than most TV shows. But they can't account for everything in advance. And some storylines are so well-written and progressed over a long period of time that of course it's a little disappointing when others fall short. Not to mention, taking the piss out of things is just what we do around here. ;)

And yeah, I don't know how LOST can possibly have an ending that lives up to fans' expectations. Not only do we expect something phenomenal, exciting and enlightening, but we've also discussed and debated every possibility. If the writers manage to come up with something that is a surprise AND pleases, it'll be a miracle. It's probably not fair to the writers, but fans of LOST tend to have higher expectations of it than other shows, and that's most because what's been delivered thus far has been mostly above excellent.

Entertaining. Some of the plotholes, I hadn't even realized were there. Others seem like a non-issue, really.

The 4-toed statue is a whole other story. Rumor has it that ABC told the writers/producers not to follow that in the storyline at the time because it was "too weird." Not like the rest of the show is weird at all...

A few things:

They still have two seasons to explore the backstory of the Others.

They will bring back Ana-lucia and Walt in the upcoming season.

and I'm pretty sure the four-toed statue will come into play, very soon.

The article is terrible.
When was Boone a "leading man"?! Were you watching some other show? And of course some of the characters have to be killed, duh. Only lame shows kill nobody except background characters played by extras.
Who the hell cares about Aldo or Isabel? So some background Others died, and this is evidence that "they're making it up as they go along"? You've lost me.
Nikki and Paulo were just background characters, and were never meant to play a significant role in the main story - they were just meant to give a face to the rest of the survivors (like e.g. Arzt). The only change to their story was that their entire storyarc, instead of being spread out over the season, was condensed in one episode, "Expose".

There were always going to be survivors from the Tail section, it was planned in season 1. Their storyline was great, and it's not "throwaway" just because the most promonent 3 of them died. And in case you've forgotten, besides Bernard, there are still 13 Tailies on the Island - they're with the Others.
Eko was planned to have a big role, but Adewale wanted to leave: how is that an example of "making it up as you go along"? It's an example that you can have a great plan for the entire show, but the reality of working on TV will interfere (e.g. an actor leaving).

Nothing you write about Nadia makes sense. She was NEVER supposed to be dead pre-island. Sayid just lost hope that he'd ever find her and started thinking that she was dead. And Sayid only said "she is dead" to Danielle, so what the hell does that have to do with Shannon, unless you think he was trying to score with Danielle, too? We, the audience, knew that Nadia was alive and living in USA since season 2 "Lockdown". And the ending to the story was brilliant, IMO: we first found out she was killed, before getting too see them meet again and be happy, the opposite of what you usually get to see on a show.
The statue and a lot of other things have not been explained because the show still has 2 more seasons to go.
What is your point about the Hatch? There was another way in, and they didn't find it at once? So? What does that prove, except that people on Lost, just like people in real life, don't always know exactly what's the best thing to do at the moment?
So, the only contuinity error you've made is an unimportant line about Claire's mother. Well, that's really compelling evidence! It's not even clear what he meant, since he said "She KIND OF did" not "She did disown you", so he may have even meant that they weren't on good terms before the crash, or he may just have just meant that she really didn't have any relationship with her mother since she was in a coma, and he had a stupid way of putting it. Who even cares?! There are far bigger continuity errors in just about every show. If that's the biggest "continuity error" you can think of, it speaks a lot of the attention given to continuity on Lost.

It's ridiculous to suggest that any show on TV can have every little detail planned out in advance, and even if it did, the reality of working on TV will interfere (as in the example of Mr. Eko). Babylon 5 is always named as an example of a show planned entirely in advance, but that's just partly true - there was an elaborate plan, but in execution there were significant changes when the leading man left at the end of season 1. The writers/producers of Lost have never said that they have every single episode planned 6 years in advance. But, they claim they had the most important things - what the island is, why they crashed on it, etc. - decided early in season 1 (around "Walkabout"), when they decided that there had been a scientific organization conducting experiments on the island (although they came up with the name "Dharma" between S1 and S2), that there was time-travel, that would be survivors from the Tail section and Rose's husband would be one of them, that some of the survivors would get off the island and some would stay, etc. I see nothing in the show to contradict this.

I agree with point 10. But to be fair, that was just a throwaway line. Hardly worth making a big deal about.

Some other things I have problems with:

* Walt and the foot statue are definitely going to be explained later, I guarantee it. Be more patient.

* I don't think they ever set up Boone as a leading man. Seriously? He was just a kid that tried to be helpful but rarely was.

* Who cares about Aldo? He was just a low-level door guard. I wasn't expecting him to appear again anyway, to be honest.

* Michael could NOT have just demanded Ben be let free. You forgot the part where he had to lead the other 4 into a trap. He couldn't do that unless they thought he was on the level.

* Nadia was never intended to be dead, and nor did Sayid "lie". He was being metaphorical - he basically accepted that he would never see her again after the crash and decided to stop holding out hope, so he now thinks of her as dead. And that's why he was able to jump into Shannon's pants so easily.

But hey - I'm not a fanboy. Here are some things you should've included but didn't:

* The fact that the Others had Jack, Kate & Sawyer held captive much earlier in season 2 but let them go (Episode 11: The Hunting Party).

* The fact that Desmond's vision of Claire getting on a helicopter never happened, despite the fact that everything else he's ever seen has come true.

* The fact that nothing before season 4 (The raft, Desmond's boat, Flight 815) was affected by this time barrier that's suddenly been introduced.

Oh, and I forgot to answer about Walt: he is still in the show and will appear in season 5, and now they don't have a problem with his age, since 4 years have passed on the mainland. So I don't know why you'd see this as an abandoned storyline.

No offense Ivana but post like your's really ruin these articles. Did you read the other comments? The person who wrote this article is a fan of the show. He wrote it as a joke. If anything it's a love letter to the show. He's showing how much he pays attention to the show. These are just jesting pokes as a program he enjoys.

People like you ruin it by taking offense and acting like the person who wrote the article hates the show and is attacking it. That couldn't be further from the truth. Instead of being all defensive why can't you just relax? If the article wasn't your cup of tea then that's fine. But getting all defensive just goes to show why other people don't like fanboys/girls. Instead of having a sense of humor you take your obsessions way too seriously.

honestly, i love this show but im sooo glad boone died early, making shannon moody and a little less annoying
then she die too! everybody happy!

they were like the OC couple of the show,

Thanks. Now I have lots of ammunition for the next Lost vs. Heroes debate, when someone tries to claim that Lost doesn't have nearly as many plotholes or useless characters as Heroes.

I honestly think that this show will continue to mesmerize viewers for a while. And who could possibly deny the yearning to know the answers to questions like: who will Kate screw next? Is Hurley really that crazy? Is Locke really dead? I mean, it'a soap opera with an enormous budget. We're drawn in the stories and will be until they no longer have any mystery. I'm sure the writers are scared that this show will go down as one of those "worst endings of all time" right beside the one on Dallas where is was all "just a dream." I have to agree with this article, strongly. They're scared for an ending so the more stone feet and the more Desmond visions they can inject, the better to prolong the inevitable dissappointment of the ending.

Hey Jeremy,
You're a hypocrite. Stop taking her too serious comments too seriously. It is every nerd's right to be zealously irrational in the defense of their favorite properties. Why you gotta harsh the rant? You totally ruined the comments for me.

This is the worst top ten list T.R. has done.

It's mostly just pissy or uninformed.

When this guy says you have too many dangling plot threads and unresolved storylines, you've gone too far.

Back in the day I could've added a handful of unexplained plot holes to the list, but it's been so long since I've seen an episode of Lost that I can't recall any of them any more. Which is sad. The damned writers strike really screwed things up, and while I never liked the way the show was presented when they stretched 20+ episodes over 40 weeks, at least there were new episodes regularly. I do like that they're playing them uninterrupted though. 24 benefits from that and Lost will too (barring any more pointless strikes)

The one thing I'll give the writers credit for is that, from what I've heard, they've always had an end in mind. But I think ABC has to take a lot of blame for the mass amount of plot holes and such. Season 1 is pretty solid, but things slowly fall apart after that. Mainly because the show was so popular. So the writers then have a show that maybe they planned to be 3 seasons long, and now they're told they need to stretch it out so that ABC can capitalize on the series. So they are forced to find more stories to interject into their plot, which is also being changed by people who are more worried about the ratings than the story. It wasn't until last season that ABC agreed to end the show after 3 more seasons (ending on season 6). So now that the writers actually have a destination, they can start steering everything back towards the goals they had originally planned for the series.

You gotta give em some credit for keeping so many people interested while trying to stretch the plot with a crap ton of filler episodes. Yeah, the middle of the season episodes are generally pointless and lame. But at least they pay off with good beginnings and ends to the seasons.

Great list, and I'm excited about Lost tonight! Woo hoo!!

I don't consider most of those actuall "plot holes", considering that there are actual explainations in the show that cover them. The show's writers have already said that they will be, at least will attempt to, tie up all the loose ends. There are still 34 episodes to go (17 per season if i'm not mistaken) to clear up all the mysteries. I am super stoked about the new season starting tonight and cannot wait to get pissed off at the new "plot holes" that are introduced instead of explained. Good article...

Q: Why did the others dress in rags and act like they were castaways?

A: Because if they let it be known to the actual castaways that they were civilized, and had things like houses, beds, showers, and other conveniences, they would possibly have to deal with a horde of interlopers attempting to take their stuff or move in with them, and they like their privacy.

The costumes made it seem like they had nothing to take.

As for the whole "stealing kids" thing, I thought that was obvious: No women on the island can have children, but the Others needed to continue their society and research. That meant that they needed to capture kids and raise them as their own, or lure specific people (Juliette, for example) to the island and indoctrinate them into their society.

Lacking the ability to procreate makes it necessary to do other things to maintain your population.

Lacking the ability to procreate makes it necessary to do other things to maintain your population.

Like, say, encouraging a collection of people, isolated from the outside world and desperate for food, shelter and supplies, to integrate into your community and accept your authority and hierarchical structures? People with strange and potentially useful powers, or skills that might be necessary for your continued well-being?

Oh, wait, no. That'd just be crazy. Much better to kill and terrorize them until they have no choice but to start killing you back.

I watched the first season of Lost after it came out on DVD with some friends in a three day marathon. I was absolutely blown away. Then I watched the next season and a half on TV. But by the middle of the third season I was sort of disgusted by all the never ending plotlines. Then I found out that the show was never really meant to last more than a season or two in the first place... I had a small mental breakdown, then I ate some cookies and watched Buffy reruns. Now all is right in the world. ;)

But seriously, I will never, ever watch Lost again.

Like, say, encouraging a collection of people, isolated from the outside world and desperate for food, shelter and supplies, to integrate into your community and accept your authority and hierarchical structures?

And then when that collection of people finds out that you can communicate with the outside world, they demand to return to their lives on the mainland, thus exposing your mysterious island to the entire world.

Or you could terrorize them, making them live in fear and take away all hope that they will ever be rescued. Then you work one on one convincing the leaders of the collection of people to join your side and the ones who won't join you, you get rid of.

Up until the Season 5 Premier I thought the Nicki and Paulo episode was useless. You could have skipped that altogether, but now I feel like it could actually be a clue. I think that "Expose" being shown in Hurley's house is pointing to it. The venomous spider which simulates death so closely that they bury Nikki and Paulo alive might also be just what makes Locke appear dead, even though he isn't really dead (that's my theory). Could it be that Jack's dad, Christian, had also been given that in Australia, and that's why he is alive on the island. Was he perhaps never really dead?
So the "Expose" episode might really be a key to unraveling some of the mysteries.

weren't hurleys numbers on the hatch because they were the same numbers that they had to type to save the world? thats what i always thought.

Do you even watch the show? Half that list will be addressed in the show, it's been obviously leading to it.

You obviously just want to trash the show because you're too stupid to understand it.

You're a git.

Wait til it's over before trashing what has and hasnt been answered. I guess the enthralling mystery of American Idol more suits your attention span.

I responded to this article here: http://www.thesamedame.com/2009/02/is-lost-made-up-as-it-goes-along.html

Your number-one reason is pretty much completely off-target. The Sayid-Shannon love story emerged after it was revealed that Nadia was still alive. I believe that the purpose of the plot-line was to demonstrate that the Losties were beginning to accept that they may never get off the island, and maybe it's time to start life anew here. Also, while the "she's dead" thing may have been due to writer error, you also have to take the unrelaiable narrator factor into account. Sayid was saying it to an apparently crazy woman with a gun on him, and he'd been trying to earn her sympathy ever since she took him prisoner. Just sayin'.

You gotta realize this was all outta love.

I stopped watching lost around season 3, it just got outta hand the way there seems to be something "new" and "unexplained" in every show. Yeah, it seems that they don't have a true cannon to follow. alot of stuff contradicts other things. what really bugs me is how dead folks just come back to life--really takes away the authenticity of creativity from Lost. I'll probably wait for season 6 to end and hope they dish out a complete series dvd set and watch it at my leisure.