In the inevitable yet annoyingly predictable debates that ensued after the finale aired last Sunday, I started to notice that most viewers fit rather neatly into general categories. Here, in order, are the 6 stages of being a Lost (un)fan.
Stage 0: These people have never seen it, and/or don’t care. Maybe they’ll queue it on Netflix sometime, or maybe they really only like courtroom dramas, or NCIS, or DWTS, or SATC, or…
Stage 1: These people LOVED season 1… Plane crash, deserted island, scary monster in the jungle… but they may think the hatch button was a little weird. What happened to tromping through the jungle and the island castaway story? No more LOST for these people.
Stage 2: Okay, the hatch was pretty cool. They accept this new direction… up until Nikki and Paulo. And who cares about Jack’s tattoo? What happened to their favorite show? Well, it started good. This group thinks the show should have ended after the first two seasons.
Stage 3: Yeah, a few episodes were off in season 3, but it overall it was great. This Jacob dude sounds pretty intriguing. But WOW things got weird in season 4. Time Travel? Really? Jumped the Dharma Shark! The show has fallen off the wagon.
Stage 4: Season 4 was great, but wow, was season 5 abysmal. These people may think, “wow, I really thought they were going somewhere… what a letdown.”
Stage 5: Time Travel! Nuclear Explosions! The 70’s! Only to come crashing down into a pointless season 6.
Stage 6: Finished it! The best show ever! These people LOVE the finale – a near-perfect way to wrap up the series.
Disgruntled Stage 6: These people watched every episode, just thinking it would get better, but it never did. Why did they waste so much time on this drivel? This group often accuses those who like the show of being delusional. This accusation comes from a deep-rooted place of pain and fear and shame that they had invested so much. Poor souls.
What stage are you?
KOS Hummer Tour!
shenpa warrior 
May 26th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Stage 0. All the way down to loving Law and Order: SVU. That is my courtroom drama of choice
May 26th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
You got me – I am a “1”. for sure – and a very satisfied 1, at that!
Although, I am a little jealous of the pic – I am a stage 6 when it comes to trips to Hawaii!
May 27th, 2010 at 6:17 am
i’m a number 6. absolutely best series ever.
May 27th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Stage 0. Tried to watch Lost occasionally to see what all the excitement was about. I thought it was convoluted without purpose. And boring. Kind of like a bad dream that you just can’t quite remember in detail but nonetheless leaves you unsettled upon waking. Even watched some of the last episode, but found the newspaper that day more interesting. To each his own I guess.
May 28th, 2010 at 7:28 am
“Tried to watch Lost occasionally”
There’s your first problem. That’s like hearing 2 chords out of some musical masterpiece. Without purpose. And boring. 🙂
May 27th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
I’m a total stage 6. Loved, loved, loved it until the closing scene (though I definitely could have done without Nikki and Paulo).
May 29th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
I dunno, I know everyone loves to hate Nikki and Paulo, but I kinda liked them. The episode was so off and different from the rest of the series, it’s almost like, “Is this even Lost?”
May 28th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Unashamed to proclaim I am true blue STAGE 6! Woohoo:-)
May 29th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
YAY!
May 29th, 2010 at 6:00 am
I think you need a category for those stage 6 individuals that were also somewhat disapointed with the ending. I don’t think it ruined the show for me but it was less brilliant than I expected.
May 29th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
symphony – How about a Likert scale? 🙂
“The LOST finale was great!”
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
May 29th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I could relate to the science fiction elements, but not to the soap opera and quasi-religious mumbo-jumbo. If I have to pick a category, I’ll be Stage 3.
May 31st, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Yeah, I get that – I know a few people who were probably disappointed with the decidedly spiritual turn things took. I for one am a fan of both quasi-religious mumbo jumbo, and pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo, so it worked for me.