TMC
09-23-2014, 04:28 PM
http://uproxx.com/tv/2014/09/how-j-j-abrams-and-damon-lindelof-tricked-abc-into-creating-lost/
Lost was a television show that explored the human condition through charged notions: good vs evil, nature vs nurture, free will vs predetermined destiny, the philosophy of mortality and the redemptive nature of man. The ABC show used devices such as mysticism, scientific exploration, and religion — all permeated by an overwhelming sense of survival — to get there.
Lost also came packaged with its own mythos. Mysteries — some explained and other left unanswered — abounded in the six seasons of the highly popular program. As much as the human element pervaded the series, the show was steeped in a stew of supernatural and metaphysical components that made it one of the most polarizing TV series of all-time. Much of Lost’s charm is owed to the razor’s edge it traversed, from straight forward drama to full-blown Twilight Zone-esque narratives.
As popular as the program was in the form we know, it was almost something entirely different. ABC — like many media outlets — did not want to take chance on something so bizarre and divergent that it would alienate their audience. In order to reassure ABC that their upcoming drama about a plane wreck on a mysterious island wouldn’t stray too far from their sensibilities, creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof created a “series format” document that described a show much different than what they would create. Little did ABC know, the wool was being pulled over their eyes…
Lost was a television show that explored the human condition through charged notions: good vs evil, nature vs nurture, free will vs predetermined destiny, the philosophy of mortality and the redemptive nature of man. The ABC show used devices such as mysticism, scientific exploration, and religion — all permeated by an overwhelming sense of survival — to get there.
Lost also came packaged with its own mythos. Mysteries — some explained and other left unanswered — abounded in the six seasons of the highly popular program. As much as the human element pervaded the series, the show was steeped in a stew of supernatural and metaphysical components that made it one of the most polarizing TV series of all-time. Much of Lost’s charm is owed to the razor’s edge it traversed, from straight forward drama to full-blown Twilight Zone-esque narratives.
As popular as the program was in the form we know, it was almost something entirely different. ABC — like many media outlets — did not want to take chance on something so bizarre and divergent that it would alienate their audience. In order to reassure ABC that their upcoming drama about a plane wreck on a mysterious island wouldn’t stray too far from their sensibilities, creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof created a “series format” document that described a show much different than what they would create. Little did ABC know, the wool was being pulled over their eyes…