When Good Shows Go Bad and Others Just Get Better

I feel like I've been writing a lot about 24 and Lost recently. Well, the trend continues. This week's ep of 24, while different, was not necessarily better than what we've been given since Jack took out Curtis early in the day (this season's high water mark in my opinion). This season's failures were made even clearer to me this morning when I happened to catch the tail-end of a season five episode in syndication. The five minutes I saw of that ep were better than anything that has happened in the last five weeks of season six. My main gripe is in the thin writing, especially as it regards character motivation. I'm just not buying Jack's commitment to Audrey, especially in light of the fact that in the past he has been willing to sacrifice literally anyone in order to protect his country. A point he made crystal clear to The Ricker in this week's waning seconds. I know JB thinks he loves Audrey and all, but where is the Jack that would have told Cheng to go scratch and then went off to find his recently widowed sister in-law?

In my last post I was also complaining about the lack of resolution with somewhat significant characters and story lines. My brother in-law forwarded me the following post from the Ask Ausiello column of TVGuide.com:

Question: Is President Logan dead on 24? The last time we saw him was in the ambulance after Martha stabbed him, and now no one mentions him at all! — Shannon Blake

Ausiello: It appears Logan is going the way of those Russian mobsters on The Sopranos. A 24 source says the ex-prez will not be seen or heard from again this season.

Are you kidding me? Talk about thin writing. What then was the point of even bringing him back in this season? His role in the crisis eventually meant nothing and now we're left to wonder about the former Mrs. Logan too. I suppose then that it's safe to assume will never see Jack's pappy again either which is just utterly ridiculous. I think I might just go to sleep and forget this day ever happened.

Lost, on the other hand, continues to be in peak form. Last night's ep "Catch-22" was solid and while not necessarily mythologically revealing, I think it was a neat way to address that final scene from the season two finale. Remember? Penelope got that phone call in the middle of the night from two researchers, at what we can only assume was the North Pole, who told her they found something. Well, according to the producers the island was visible for an instant when Desmond turned the fail safe key and the sky went purple. So obviously, in the couple weeks since that happened Penelope has sent someone to search for her beloved Des. It's a really cool way to tie things together in my opinion. If you want a great recap of last night's ep check out Jeff Jensen's at ew.com

My favorite moment last night (besides the picture of the old lady on the priest's desk) was Desmond's reaction after Hurley mentioned the parachutist was still breathing, it was really touching when you consider that Des still thought Penny would be under the helmet. The only thing I can't figure out is what he thought she was coming for. Did he expect her to get everyone home, or was he just happy to have her there and they could finally be together outside the reach of her father?

In stark contrast to 24, Lost is a show is defined by it's characters. Fortunately, for its first few seasons 24 had strong enough stories to make up for the fact that every character is very one-dimensional and basically expendable. Now that they are having trouble with plots this becomes even more apparent.

While some might argue that Lost's mystery is it's heart, I would respectfully disagree. The mystery is merely the conduit for understanding the personalities of the castaways, and to those who are tired of flashbacks: THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE SHOW'S SUCCESS. They are a really cool way to show us the characters' motivations for their actions on the island as well as being a supremely economical and fascinating form of character development.