In my foray into Google Wave, I ran into an awesome wave started by Neil Byce (twitter: @atruereview wave: neilbyce4). The wave’s rather extensive LOST content shows off the features of Google Wave and its collaborative approach to social media. Neil also runs the film review site A True Review working hard to providing unbiased reviews based on 5 different criteria. I had the opportunity to interview Neil via emails, and he’ll also be contributing some interview for LOSTblog covering some of the many fan theorists around the net.
If you need a Google Wave invite, just ask me or Neil on twitter. Read on for Neil’s awesome interview, and stay tuned for more content from Neil.
How long have you been watching Lost? If you’ve been watching since the pilot, can you remember your initial reaction to it?
I started watching “LOST” between seasons 1 and 2. I had heard about how great the show was and how it won the emmy for best show and I was naturally interested. I went camping with my wife for our anniversary at the beach and I had brought my laptop along so we picked up the DVD set and watched them in our tent. Both my wife and I were hooked.
How did Lost get its polar bear claws into you? What about it got you hooked?
It honestly didn’t take very long. Because I naturally enjoy feature length films more than television I wasn’t sure if I would end up following the show. But everything from the cinematography, the editing, the musical score, the acting, etc… roped me right in. It also didn’t hurt that there were monsters on the island...
Favorite character?
This has been challenging for me ever since we started learning about each backstory. I had originally felt that it was Jack but after some years have gone by I have truly fallen in love with the character of “Sayid”. He is truly a hurting individual who essentially was shaped into being a killer from a young age. Though everything he has gone through he continues to show a caring side.
Least favorite character?
This is very difficult for me. I truly love almost every character in LOST history, even Nikki and Paulo, which most fans hate. I would have to say it was Carl. The reason for this is because I didn’t think he was cast very well. He didn’t deliver his lines very well and he had little to do with the entire mythos of the story, also, why didn’t we ever find out where Carl came from?
Favorite episode or season?
Hands down my favorite episode is “There’s no place like home” parts 1 and 2. The finale for season 4. It was just so big! I mean it felt like a movie and the pacing of it was unreal. Everything from fights to memorable moments to Ben moving a frozen donkey wheel to move an entire island. Classic. Favorite season is hands down season 2. A lot of people don’t like it. I love it because it really started to peel back the layers of the onion known as LOST with its Mythology and island history. Plus, the Hatch!
Least favorite episode or season?
Least favorite episode would have to be “Confirmed Dead”. Only because I felt like it was slow and paced poorly. Also, the ending of the episode basically the same information we had already seen with Faraday landing on the island. They did this with Desmond as well back in Season 2 but I thought it was implemented a little bit better. Least favorite season would have to be season 3. Not because I don’t like it but because when comparing it with the other seasons it falls just short slightly, however, the finale to season 3 was really amazing.
Are you Team Jack or Team Locke?
Definitely team Jack. I mean, what does that even mean anymore. Jack obviously has become more like the old Locke now than ever right. And Locke is obviously not Locke anymore so they basically seem like they are the same character now. Jack no longer is just a man of science but also a man of faith.
If you had to be one of the following, which would it be and why: an 815 survivor, an Other or a member of the Dharma Initiative?
Easy, an 815 survivor! Really, the survivors of flight 815 obviously have a purpose on the island that is significant. I would want to be part of that group.
Tell us a bit about your site/blog/podcast, i.e. why you started it, how it runs, your post-season 6 plans for it, etc.
I am the founder of a film review site called www.atruereview.net . Our focus is to review films in an unbiased criteria based way. I created because of a constant distaste for movie reviews that I had every time I went to the web to see what critics thought about a film. One would say they loved the movie and another would say it was the worst film of all time.
I also created one of the largest LOST waves on the ever increasingly popular Google Wave. I would also like to somehow get involved in continuing supporting the LOST fan-verse for years after LOST has left the airwaves.
What are you favorite online Lost communities, blogs, podcasts, etc.?
Dark UFO, LOSTblog.com, Simply Television, LOST and gone forever are just a few sites I follow religiously. I also follow the Transmission and The Jay and Jack show on my iPod for my exercise times.
Tell us something interesting/scary/amusing/downright weird about how your time in the Lost fan-verse has changed your life.
LOL, this is really funny. I had an awesome experience of how LOST can really mess with your mind. I had a Desmond experience practically. I had déjà-vu one day that if I let my son eat outside on the porch he was going to fall off of his chair and get hurt. I saw it in advance. I thought about it for a moment and saw it in my mind, almost like I left that moment for a second and then I thought how it was so much like LOST. I thought I could prevent it and told my son to eat inside. My wife then told him that he could go outside and eat, which I did not hear. I heard him outside and walked to the porch to see him eating in the exact same position I had forseen and he leaned back and fell. Freaky!!!!!
You’re in an elevator with someone who has never seen as much as a second of Lost. You got on in the lobby and you’re both headed to the fifteeth floor. How do you convince them to buy and watch all the DVDs before the elevator gets there?
LOL, I have basically done this many times already. First I would find out if they like t.v.shows. If they do I would tell them about how amazing LOST is and how it is in over 270 countries worldwide, I would sell them on the character development and how the writers have created a story that is as epic as any intricate novel. I would also bribe them in some way as a last resort ;)
Has watching Lost sparked any creative inspiration in your life, i.e. writing, media, art, etc.?
Sure, LOST single handedly got me into Google Wave. I wanted to create something that I could share with others that love LOST. We have to stick together right J?
How do you plan on combatting PLDS (Post Lost Distress Syndrome) or do you think we’re all destined to end up continously re-watching our Lost: The Complete Series Ultimate Box Set for the rest of our lives?
I definitely plan on helping to combat this deadly disease…. Really though, I believe that the fan-verse of LOST is going to keep this show alive for decades. There will be individuals that come along that do some truly creative things for the longevity of the show. I hope to be one of those people.
What do you think will be Lost’s legacy?
I think LOST will become our generation’s Star Trek. Think about this for a moment. When Star Trek first came around it didn’t have a huge following. It didn’t last very long but it had a dedicated following. Today, Star Trek has an entire universe created by fans that is alive and thriving. Now, for LOST, it has a huge following, it is shown in over 270 countries, will be on for 6 seasons and has Disney backing it (hoping for a LOST island attraction in Orlando to replace Tom Sawyer’s island)! As long as the fans want the show to live on, it will.
Thanks Neil for the interview, and looking forward to reading more of your movie reviews at A True Review
