Pop Vultures

Hi, my name is Erin and I’m addicted to Lost. I would probably need some sort of program with steps but I’m not about to admit that this is a problem. It’s more like a clever spin on a Robert Palmer video.

But really, I love this show. I love it like a lovey thing. I love the plot twists, I love the mysteries, I love the back stories and the character connections and I have a raging crush on Michael Emerson. I love Lost as I have loved no other show since seasons 1-4 of The X-files (I can’t talk about what happened after that; it’s dead to me now). My love is pure and true and knows no bounds. And my beloved Lost is not going to be back on my TV until February.

You can imagine how tragic this is. On one hand, I love that they worked out a definitive deal so we know there are three more (sadly shorter) seasons, but on the other hand I want my Lost. I want my mysterious stompy security systems and glow in the dark maps and polar bears and hatches and numbers and creepy filmstrips. I want to stay up far too late on Wednesday nights coming up with crazy conspiracy theories and speculating on the meaning of the most mundane-seeming details. I want my show back.

Luckily, the powers that be at Lost are aware that I’m going into withdrawal, and they are providing 2-3 minute hits of online Lost in the form of Lost: Missing Pieces.

Lost: Missing Pieces are 13 two- to three-minute stories of compelling, new, never-before-seen moments from the hit television show LOST. These newly-created scenes (not deleted scenes from previous episodes) reveal answers and new details about your favorite characters. For each story, we leave it up to the fans to figure out where these pieces fit into the overall mythology.

Our first webisode (mobisode? I feel so old and not tech savvy enough) features Jack receiving a watch from his dad (gunning for “most appearances by a dead guy on Lost“) just prior to Jack’s wedding.

The production value is quality for something this short. It seems like they want us to know they are putting some effort into these and they’re not just throwaway bits to placate hungry fans. It has a musical score, even!

I am not a huge Jack fan. No, I take that back. I am not a Jack fan at all. I am impressed with Matthew Fox’s ability to cry more than any other guy in prime time, but I am sick of his character and his daddy issues and even more sick of him being the central character. So, that taints my opinion right there. Give me a Locke or Desmond or Hurley webimobisode and I’ll likely be more enthused.

The content is interesting enough for a short clip. I am not entirely sure we’ve never seen this watch before (I am assuming, since it was given for his wedding, he might have stopped wearing it when his marriage ended) and quick Googling for screencaps shows that he does appear to have a watch on in some of his flashback scenes. I’m also curious about the sunglasses (hiding more manly tears?) that appear to be the same retro pair Jack was sporting in the Season 3 finale. And it is kind of nice to see a sort of sweet interaction between Jack and his dad. And, um… Can I have a new webisode now?

Here’s the thing: I’m kind of a Lost purist. I live in fear of spoilers, I don’t haunt message boards, I don’t listen to podcasts and I only go searching online for the occasional screencap when I want to double-check something. I don’t text 4 8 15 16 23 42 to whatever number to get 30 seconds of deleted scenes or clues in breakfast cereals and the first time I found the secret-revealing jigsaw puzzles I felt kind of dirty. And no, I didn’t buy them (you need all four to decipher all the secrets, anyway, and I don’t have that kind of jigsaw time or puzzle assembling area). I do kind of want the Dharma shot glasses, though.

I just don’t like the marketing-o-rama. I think it’s lame, especially when they stick “secrets” and “enigmas” in there. I want to watch my show to get my information. I will watch the deleted scenes when I get my shiny DVDs and I really don’t want to put together jigsaw puzzles, people. My cats would eat the pieces and you know they’d choose the ones with the enigmas on them.

So I like that these Lost: Missing Pieces are straightforward (well, as straightforward as Lost ever is) and don’t need codes or passwords or anything gimmicky. I’d like to think that this is truly the powers that be acknowledging the fact that we fans miss our show.

I’ll admit it, I feel a bit like a kid with a cookie. It might not be the best cookie, but it’s still a cookie and I kind of want to steal the whole box from Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse instead of only having one a week and making them last until the show itself really comes back. (The show is, uh, a giant cookie? Pie? I don’t know, that metaphor mostly worked in bite-sized.)

I am reserving a final opinion until I’ve seen all 13 pieces. And if any of them have Michael Emerson in them I will be a happy puppy.

What did you think? Did the clip leave you wanting more or just leave you wanting?