It's that time of year, "Lost" fans. No, I don't mean the time to start getting unnaturally excited because new episodes of your favorite show are barely a month away. Though by all means, start annoying coworkers, neighbors, and loved ones as you patiently explain why detonating a hydrogen bomb over a pocket of unusual, time-manipulating matter seemed like a good idea at the time. No, what I'm talking about is that time of year that binds every last one of us: it's New Year's resolutions time.No, normally I'm not one to make resolutions such as this. I'm the guy that patiently waits for the sudden crowds in the gym come January to peter out by Valentine's Day. Making resolutions isn't inherently a bad thing, but when it comes to make one around the end of a year, I find they tend not to stick. You're more likely to quit smoking due to a heart attack versus seeing Pink perform in Times Square just before the ball drops.
But since this is the last year of "Lost," I'm changing my tune a bit. Moreover, these aren't necessarily resolutions for myself, but my status as a "Lost" fan and blogger. Because, after all, I'm the former before I'm the latter. Sometimes that secondary status interferes with the primary one, but I haven't written about the show four times a week for the past two plus years as simply a mechanical, professional exercise. And I've come up with a few resolutions to make my status as both as fun and productive as possible in the home stretch of the show.
And so, my resolutions are thus:
1) To remain spoiler-free throughout the season.
I'm happy to see other blogs and fans jumping on this train as well as Season 6 approaches. I've been spoiler-free since Day One on this show. A combination of "lack of curiosity" and "lack of insider access" contributed to this. Not only did I not have someone inside ABC feeding me scoop, I refused to read any site that managed to have such a connection. We've come this far. We know the show's going to provide us answers to questions we've long wanted to know. Let's let the show deliver those answers to us on their schedule, shall we?
2) Not panic if the start of Season 6 gives me the heebies and/or jeebies about the direction of the final season.
Looking back, it's amazing to consider how much the show asked if its audience during "Because You Left." Rewatching it recently, it's a marvel of informational download, but at the time, it had everyone's head spinning and nose bleeding. I'm willing to wager Season 6's first episode(s) will be even more head-scratching. And while I'm on record as being unsure if any sort of time reboot is a good idea, I'm also on record as saying my doubt is a byproduct of my own inability to see how it's going to work, NOT my trust in Darlton to do so.
3) 50% less Bai Ling jokes in 2010.
This might sound tough, but I still get to make about 556 jokes at her expense. I like to make resolutions that are easy to achieve.
4) "Less is more."
Look, I love to write. A lot. You might have noticed. I tend to not only write often, but in bulk. I try to find topics that go beyond, "I think Topic X sure is weird, what about you?" in terms of delivering provocative content that you won't find anywhere else. But it's no good if I'm delivering them at a clip that would make 19th-century novelists peek over and tell me to stop showing them up. So while I'll actually be ramping up the amount of content I'll be producing for Zap2it this spring, it's going to come at you in a variety of forms. I don't want to give away too much, and I don't think brevity is the soul of blogging, but you're going to see more than a few new wrinkles here over the next six plus months.
5) Maintain the most fan-friendly "Lost" blog I possibly can.
The internet, in case you haven't already figured it out, is kind of a nasty place. Above and beyond anything else I do in 2010, I will strive to ensure that this site continues to be a place where discussion is encouraged, arguments are civil, and the beer flows freely. OK, maybe I can't make the third thing happen (apparently there ISN'T an app for that), but my approach to this site is that being a fan of "Lost" should be above all things fun. It's not about being "right," either in a column I write or a comment you make. The best thing I've ever done here is co-host the Zap2Locke Con in Chicago, where I met 50 people I never would have had it not been for our mutual love of the show. It was one of the highlights of my decade and certainly the highlight of my "Lost" fandom, unless you count learning that Bai Ling would never return to the show. (It's still 2009, I'm allowed all the Ling jokes I want for the next week.)
If perpetually shouting down opinions that don't jive with yours is your bag, this isn't the site for you. If trying to impress people with spoiler-filled secrets of upcoming episodes is your bag, this isn't the site for you. If viewing the show as something to solve as opposed to something to savor is your bag, this isn't the site for you. But if enjoying the show in an environment in which you'll learn more about the show by contributing to the thoughts of both myself and the most creative, consistently stimulating crowd of commenters, then this is absolutely the site for you.
Have any "Lost"-theme resolutions you'd like to share? Leave them below!
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Photo credit: ABC
