A couple more nights before the season premiere of Lost. I'm excited.
I've never been someone devoted to television shows. Nobody ever called me a Trekkie. I've tended to be like a lot of other people--I have my favorite shows but easily get side-tracked. I've never made it through a whole season of 24, for instance. But Lost is different. Lost is everything I aspire to do as a writer.
The show isn't just about castaways stuck on a mysterious island after their plane crashes. It's a story about second chances and redemption. The characters are all flawed--it includes a drug addict, several murderers, you name it--and yet each of them is on some journey toward possibly finding grace.
There is a great big mystery in the show that keeps you watching. But it's driven by characters. Real characters. There is love, action, suspense, surprise--all the great ingredients for a magnificent story. The pilot hooked you and the characters keep you hooked.
I've been rewatching the past seasons on DVD. I'm midway through season two. Tonight I watched an episode entitled "Psalm 23" which concentrated on the character of Mr. Eko, who was once a killer and drug dealer in Nigeria. His is a story of redemption. But redemption often doesn't come neatly packaged. What does?
