The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
An airplane crashes on a deserted island, and a group of survivors must struggle against the dangers of this unknown and perilous locale to stay alive. As they spend more time on the island, they discover that it has many mysteries and that they may have been brought here for a reason.
Aired: ABC, 2004-2010, 6 Seasons Totaling 121 Episodes
Created By: Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof
Starring: Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Terry O’Quinn, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell, Naveen Andrews
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
When Lost arrived on the scene in the fall of 2004, there was very little in the way of sci-fi/fantasy television on the Big Four (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) broadcast networks (more on that at this link). It turned into a surprise hit, and for better or worse, plenty of genre entries (many with similar premises) started to show up on the schedule. It re-energized interest in sci-fi TV–even though it kept its genre elements in the background at first–and proved that a series like this could draw large audiences in front of the television during prime time.
Lost succeeded because it delivered an intriguing story with mysteries wrapped within mysteries that captured the attention of viewers and kept them engaged. The audience wanted to unravel the story and they returned each week to search for the next piece of the puzzle. The show also successfully managed to reinvent itself regularly so that it did not descend into formula and deliver a rehash of the same plotlines each week. While story arcs had already become familiar to genre audiences (Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The X-Files, etc.), Lost basically made that a mandatory part of genre shows from that point forward. Episodic sci-fi TV pretty much died out at this point as audiences demanded more intricate, planned-out storylines.
But ultimately, it is the characters that brought this show to life along with the actors that portrayed them. Each character has a well-developed backstory, and we come to know them through the flashbacks as well as their interactions with others on the island. This helped draw in the audience along with the many mysteries that unfolded across each episode, and the cast also had perfect chemistry that helped raise the show to the next level.
Despite the fact that the ending of the series left many disappointed, the journey is worth the effort. The show had its many twists and turns and brought in a plethora of characters (practically requiring a scorecard to keep up with everybody), but it remained engaging from start to finish. Whether you approve of how it ended or not, you have to acknowledge Lost‘s accomplishments and recognize it as one of the greatest sci-fi (or fantasy?) TV shows of all time.
Argument Against:
It is hard to argue that Lost did not get off to a strong start as the show came out of nowhere and delivered a hit with a concept that seemed very limited at first. But once its inaugural season ended, things started to derail for the show. The writers had a plan of sorts for the first season, but it wasn’t fully fleshed out to carry the series to its endpoint (just look at the early writer’s bible to see how it sets up the initial tale but does not go much beyond that). After that point, they pretty much made up the story on the fly for each additional season. So the creative team had not even completed the design of the puzzle while the viewers were in the process of putting it together.
And then there was the ending. No specific spoilers, but it did disappoint. The final season actually seemed to be on track to deliver a hell of a finale, and its flash-sideways segments added some interesting character insights. But ultimately it fell apart with a conclusion that many had been predicting for years and that the creative team kept denying they would deliver. So while the first season or so of Lost set up what could have been an all-time great series, it ended up meandering across its six-season run and ultimately flubbed the ending, keeping it from counting as an all-time great sci-fi TV entry.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
The first season of Lost is one of those rare perfect seasons where everything came together without a hitch to deliver a television drama hitting on all cylinders. Even though it had genre elements, the storytelling at first did not hinge on that, and the show attracted a broad audience beyond just sci-fi TV fans. It did so because it was well-written, well-acted, well-directed, and just damn good. It was also very different from the other options on prime time, and its uniqueness was yet another factor that made it stand out.
From that point, your opinion on how the show proceeded may vary, and the fact is that the creative team was truly making up the story as they went along (something that hurt 2003’s Battlestar Galactica in its later seasons, more on that at this link). But as far as I’m concerned, that is fine because they still managed to put together one good season after the next. The writers would essentially plan out each season at the beginning of the production year, and they found plenty of ways to reinvent the formula and keep the show fresh. While I understand that some were disappointed with the finale, I liked it, and I was not expecting them to offer a nice tidy wrap-up to each plot point. Some ambiguity was definitely needed (anybody remember the classic finale to The Prisoner?), and the show provided sufficient resolution as far as I am concerned. That, along with the influence Lost has had on the genre since its premiere, make it an important sci-fi TV entry, and it certainly should count as one of the greatest of all time.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series is available on Blu-ray and DVD as well as VOD. It is currently available for streaming on Hulu and Netflix.
Do you consider Lost to be one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy TV shows of all time, or did the show derail with its later seasons and finale? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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“Lost” was an insult to its viewers. It dug a tremendous hole for itself that it couldn’t possibly get out of. This was insufferably arrogant, and cheap. This is one, like the gigantic cop out ending of “Game of Thrones,” that I will never forgive.