The LOST Experience

Almost 24 hours removed from the LOST finale, I continue to process and work through last night's series ending episode.  My brain needs the time to process and think through the experience of LOST.  Experience is really the best way that I can describe what it is like to be a fan and follower of the show.  Some would describe it as a roller coaster ride, others as a six year movie, but for me it's been an experience. 

People get up from watching a TV show or exit a theater with immediate feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction and every once in a while, a really good movie will keep you thinking during the drive home or be the center of discussion with your spouse for a couple days.  When we have experiences in life, they are drawn out over time and impact us on a variety of levels. Satisfaction or dissatisfaction isn't always clear immediately.  It's due to the time span and multi-faceted impact on audience members and a world-wide fan base that I believe LOST rose to greater heights than a television series and should be be described as an experience.

I'll leave the theories and explanations about the storyline and time lines to those truly committed to it (checkout http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2010/05/open-discussion-series-finale-of-lost.html for some great insight), for me the brilliance of the show is the experience it created and how the message of the story extended beyond it's scheduled programming time. 

The characters in LOST were traveling through life alone before their tragic plane crash, but through the course of the series they learned they were not alone and had support and companions around them.  They were brought together and bonded by a shared experience.  LOST's magic is that it created a similar situation for its fans.

For those of us who followed LOST, we became bonded together with co-workers, acquaintances, Twitter followers, and Facebook friends who shared the experience of LOST.  We watched each episode and quickly turned to our networks to discuss, analyze, and debate our theories and ideas about what we just saw.  The LOST experience has allowed us to connect with and share with others.  Our stories of our LOST experiences have been the center of conversation around the water cooler, in the break room, and at lunch.  LOST wasn't a show that we enjoyed for 60 minutes each week, it was something we experienced throughout the week and anticipated season to season. Sharing the experiences with others.

I will miss the story and characters of LOST, but mostly I'll miss the experience I feel I've been a part of for six years.