Lost in Limbo

THIS was a weekend for finishing things off, whether it was long-running dramas or your fellow contestants on a quiz show – this was the weekend that did them all in.
The big one, or for many people the most annoying one, was of course Lost. After six seasons, the loss of a host of characters and some very unexplained and confusing events, the long-running television series finally came to an end. Regular readers of this column will know that I am not a fan of the show. Although somewhat enjoyable in the beginning, it had lost (sorry, I couldn’t resist) its way for me a very long time ago. The series were rollercoasters in both content and production value, with even members of the cast admitting that the plot often seemed rambling, pointless and confusing. However, the last show promised to tie it all together and to finally put an end to everything for us. It was to be a magical sat nav that would bring the loyal viewer from the wilderness back to reality with, of course, a few recalculations on the way. But as anyone who has a sat nav will tell you, they can often be misleading and ultimately, like any navigator, will suffer some screams and shouts from the driver before finally reaching the destination.
Lost began in 2004 and was the biggest thing in television in its day. It is unusual, but not unheard of, that someone would not have seen at least one episode of the show in its run. It made obscure actors into stars, gave people a list of digits to play the Lotto with and had people all over the world guessing and engaging in philosophical debates about what the island might be throughout the years.
The premise was simple, a group of strangers are stranded on a tropical island on their way from Australia to America. The group, well mainly the good-looking ones as the other survivors are quickly dispensed with, must come together to figure a way to survive on the island and, of course, get off it. However, all is not what it seems and this island is more than just sand and tropical trees – it is mystical.
The plot lines have included strange creatures including a polar bear, an underground chamber with a button that should or should not be pushed, evil black smoke, communes, tribes, time travel and, of course, a yellow light that hovers over the island’s plug – yes that’s right, the island has a plug.
Anyway, despite the farcical plotlines, the main issue at play here is, was the final episode a satisfactory conclusion to proceedings? The answer: well no! The actual episode was good enough, the two worlds seemed to be coming together. There was some action, as well as some will-they, won’t-they moments, complete with some Jack heroism and scowling aplenty. In fact, as a normal episode, it would have been one of the top but as a finale, well, it was bland. They tied it all up with a big religious limbo-like ending. In many ways, it was a carbon copy of the Ashes to Ashes final episode on BBC One on Friday but we will get to that in a minute.
For the whole of Lost, we had been hoping for more. That the time travel had worked, that they had created an alternate reality where they lived out their lives. We wanted these people to get off the cursed island and go on living their lives but instead what we got was the merging of religious ideology and the never-ending end to the third instalment of The Lord of Rings. It was like when the hobbits just keep coming in to see Frodo. One by one, every major character was reintroduced and they remembered their time on the island and they were all blissfully happy. But did this coming together serve any purpose? Of course not! It was so that they could realise that they were in Limbo, well actually a place that they had created in their minds when they died so that they could see each other again and then move on. Move on to where? Well it sure as hell wasn’t Kansas, oh no, it was of course Heaven. What is it with television that they always have to go back to this idea of an afterlife? Whatever happened to the idea that when you die, you die? That’s it. I am not saying you have to go full Richard Dawkins on the subject but really, the fact this whole alternate reality (which had been a saviour to the show because it actually served to explain a lot of what was going on) was just a place for them to hang on until they had all died so that they could move on to Heaven together. I had hoped that this show would avoid the religious route. Many people had speculated early on that the island had some religious significance but I really thought, science will win out, the producers won’t go down this road but of course they did. I am not knocking the actual belief in afterlife but I think it is a lazy way out for script writers. They might have well have said, “And then Jack woke up… and it was all a dream”.
Ashes to Ashes was the follow-up to the highly acclaimed Life on Mars. In it, a police woman is critically injured and is transported back to the police force in 1980. Her chief superintendent, Gene Hunt is a brash, womanising and beer-swilling loudmouth who punches first and asks questions later. In 2008, she had been studying the events as they occurred in Life on Mars and is familiar with the characters of those involved.
Throughout the series, which was very dull and not at all as interesting as Life on Mars, it is unclear whether the female officer DCI Drake is alive or dead in the present day. However, on Friday night, our questions were answered and yet again, we had the idea that the 1980s world was a Limbo – a place created by Gene Hunt when he was killed as a young policeman. This is a place where police officers can go to sort through things before moving on to the next stage. And where is this next stage? Why Heaven of course. Another “…and it was all a dream ending…”, yawn!
One to Watch: I love quiz shows, mainly because they get my blood pressure up as I scream answers at the television. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but it’s all good fun. Davina McCall has a new show on Channel 4. The Million Pound Drop sees contestants begin with a million pounds. They must answer a series of questions and bet on the answers with their money. It is shown live on Channel Four and based on the first round’s contestants, it is guaranteed to get your blood boiling as they cripple under the pressure to answer simple questions incorrectly and throw away money. Check it out on Monday evenings on Channel 4.