Too soon for Lost mania?
Never. The sixth and final season of the hit show begins February 2nd on ABC. Will Lost go down in history as one of the greatest shows on television or will it crash and burn like Oceanic Flight 815?
Lockeness Monster” by Alex Pardee
Hard to tell really. I’d love to have hope in the mecca that executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof have evolved into but how can they succeed where so many before them have failed? Ending a popular series successfully is next to impossible. Seinfeld and Alias jumped the shark big-time while shows like Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer left fans divided with their swan songs. There’s only one thing Cuse and Lindelof have going for them and that’s their rather sizable imaginations.
Lost has been employing brain-teasing alternative reality games that run parallel to the series for a few years now. The majority of viewers probably don’t bother with them (or even know of their existence) but true Losties follow along with the kind of devotion usually reserved for rock stars. So it’s no wonder countless artists jumped at the chance to participate in some way with the latest. The Lost Underground Art Project stemmed from a much less serious ARG conducted by Damon, Carlton and a Polar Bear. Yes, that’s a website, I’m not just referring to two individuals and a cuddly animal. Sixteen posters were created and scattered across the internet and real world for fans to find. Isn’t that just like those Lost creators? Hanging us on cliffs til the very end!
In celebration of LOST’s final season and as a project of fan appreciation, 16 top designers and artists, who are also fans of the show, were commissioned to create artwork celebrating one of the series’ most memorable, and unforgettable, “water cooler” moments. This ultimate “fan art” was then turned into labor intensive, hand-pulled screen prints, limited to an edition of just 300, with less than 200 available to the public through our websites. Each beautiful poster tells its own different story, allowing the fan to relive memorable and influential moments in an artistic manner, as the show’s storied run comes to a close. Once this limited edition print has sold out, they will never be printed again. Celebrate the fandom, community and family created by one of televisions’ greatest shows by hanging a little part of it’s history, inspiration and influence on your wall.
Ben Linus as depicted by Todd Slater
All that led up to the Lost Underground Art Show (image heavy, but worth it), held December 15th at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. It just so happened to take place while I was in California but I was unfortunately unable to attend. Besides the original sixteen posters, a few dozen other works of art were displayed. The posters, limited to 300 prints, all sold-out at $50 a pop but more OMGWTF POLAR BEAR? The other art at the show sold for far more. Dan Lyderson’s “Memento Mori” went for $3,500. Remember, this is just art inspired by a popular television show from the 2000s.
Not everyone went the traditional oil-on-canvas route for their creations. “The Dharma Bear” by Danielle Buerli is an eight inch plus that “makes roar noise when squeezed and has small Dharma biscuits in pouch.” There’s a few original sculptures and dioramas mixed in but what got me really excited were the blank Taweret resin figures several artists went to town on. Dave Pressler’s “Wind Up Relic” was hands down my favorite. Seriously, I need a clockwork Taweret.
So far, all the promos for the final season have unfortunately been made up of old footage. According the Cuse and Lindelof, things are so universe changing in the first few episodes of season 6 that showing even one frame would spoil the whole thing for us. It’s ok Losties, we’ve waited this long, what’s a little more tease? If you need something to keep you satiated, check out this promo from the Spanish TV network Cuatro. It will give you something to obsess about for the next month.
According the Cuse and Lindelof, things are so universe changing in the first few episodes of season 6 that showing even one frame would spoil the whole thing for us.
I have read that, as well, and it definitely has me thinking. What is it that could be so game changing that to show a single frame would spoil the entire premise? I suppose it all comes down to whether or not the scheme involving the detonation of the hydrogen bomb worked. If it did, and history as the characters know it is reset, that would be relatively easy to ascertain from ABC's pre-February promotional materials. If it did not work, though, there's not much of a show left with many of the characters (seemingly) dead post-detonation. Whatever the case, I'm looking forward to it.
Definitely can't wait for the show to start back up again. It's got a pretty big following among the physics grad students (at least in Berkeley–probably everywhere else, too.)
I'm waiting for Paul Scheer or whoever to post the Damon, Carlton, and Smokey image as a wallpaper-ready download; I've been using DC'naPB for months now!