I've enjoyed tv all of my life. As a kid I loved watching TGIF on Friday nights and Saved by the Bell on Saturday mornings, but I don't remember much more than that. I got into watching Beverly Hills, 90210 and Seinfeld repeats as I got a bit older. I jumped on the American Idol train come season two, which was my junior year of high school, but none of these endeavors made me realize how rewarding television shows can actually be.
During my sophomore year of college, everything changed. My suite-mate Larry brought some tv shows on dvd from home. What were they? 24: seasons one, two and three. Although he had already seen the seasons, he wanted to share them with me and our other roommate, Mags. We rifled through the seasons, albeit those two quicker than me (I was inexplicably more preoccupied with other things at the time). Episode after episode. Disc after disc.
The three seasons were done. We loved it. Lar did his usual, "I told you this was sweet! How cool am I that I knew about this and you didn't?" But we needed more. With Mags's need to have the fourth season dvds in hand, and his lack of wanting to leave the dorm room, he ordered season four online to be delivered. Of course the fourth installment came as an Asian version with crazy subtitles on the screen. We didn't care. We needed more Jack Bauer.
The action. The torture. The real-time format. It was all revolutionary. And because we watched the first four seasons so quickly, it didn't seem to get repetitive to us. We loved it more and more as it went on. After watching seasons five through eight live, I will admit that it got a bit tiresome (especially six and this final eighth season).
In anticipation of the January 2006 start of the fifth season of 24, we realized we needed another show to hold us over. Enter Lost. It was a different experience. It had action. It had drama. It had comedy. It had mystery. We were once again hooked. As we sped through the first season we realized the second season was currently airing right under our noses. After The Others stole Walt off of the boat we had to watch season two any way we could.
We got into the tv downloading game real quick. We had to see the seven or eight eps of season two immediately so that we could watch it live with the 15 million others that were on board with watching the castaways fight for their lives.
And that is how my love for current television started. Both shows gave us so much to talk about. One was taken at face value, 24. The other was explored in depth, Lost. 24 gave us guns, explosion, car chases, moles, technology, bad guys, etc. Lost gave us flashbacks, intrigue, questions, character development, etc. They were very different, but both of them shaped the view of television I have today.
It is only fitting that they leave our lives within 24 hours of each other. Although under different circumstances, Lost and 24 had their series finales on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The Lost creators set their end date three years ago in order to stop twiddling their thumbs. They finished things on their own terms. 24, which was once a great phenomenon, was growing tiresome and they decided to pull the plug in the midst of its eighth season. They will now move on to making movies for the franchise.
To 24 and Lost, thank you for showing me that much intellect and creativity can be rooted in this medium of television. Am I smarter because I watch such brain wrenching shows like Lost? I like to think so. Have I become a better writer because these shows have ignited my inner-blogger? I also like to think so. So thank you 24 and Lost for this glorious four year ride I've been on with the both of you.
Damn it Chloe! I'll see you in another life.
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