I'm LOST. And AMUSED.

Or rather we all are. Mostly.

On Sunday May 23 2010, along with many viewers around the world, I watched intently as the LOST saga came to a close.

Of course it is hotly debated (and will continue to be for as long as there is broadband access) how plausible, palatable, acceptable (insert your preferred adjective here) or not it was.

Personally, I was late to the table and so many will poo-poo my opinions as unimportant. I actually enjoyed the ending even though I did not want the show to end. Reaching the finale of a lengthy story is always satisfying regardless of my feelings about the outcome.

Not everyone feels the same as I do and that is their option. But allow me to offer my thoughts in the form of an open letter to the people of LOST.

Dear LOST cast members (and everyone else involved with the show),

The show that set records and set tongues wagging (till the next big thing) has come to a close and WOW! what an ending. As a recovering pessimist, my first reaction was "Oh man you have GOT to be kidding. They were all dead?!" Then as the final scene played out with Jack and his father, I realized that it was about more than that.

Over the years and the seasons you wove a rich and wonderful tapestry that we all came back to every week. Offering up more questions than answers made the very imaginative and far-reaching story more credible than incredible. During the show's course my own life went through several changes as well and while I do not look to television for the answers I do sometimes find them there anyway.

It was a story that captured our primal fears and hopes from the first episode. Many try to reach that lofty goal, but few succeed. And as the story became broader and more complex it managed to keep hold of our hopes and fears for the people of the island. That the end was, in many people's eyes, a cop-out is naive and cynical. What did we expect? All the answers in one neat, tidy, two-hour package? Good luck with that.

What many fail to recognize is that for this to remain so successful for so long meant something. It is and was entertainment. That word, entertainment, itself has positive connotations and implications. Eventually, we will be happier i.e. entertained (if only temporarily) as a result. That feeling comes from the emotional investment of those involved. Who would WANT all that to end up badly? We all want the happy ending even if we won't or can't admit it.

So to you the cast, crew, and all who made LOST come to life, I say thank you. It must have been one HELL of a ride.

John

So that is my letter to the LOST folk and indirectly to those who enjoyed it, but may have some misgivings about the ending. I won't say get a life. But someone ELSE might.