Most people can agree that Lost had a lot of potential that
ended up being squandered as the series progressed. Battlestar Galactica
(which, like Lost, just ended its third season) has miraculously managed to
evade the sinkholes that have plagued Lost.
Despite seeming dissimilarities, the two shows actually have
a lot in common. Both shows involve survivors, uncertain futures, mysteries,
and sprawling casts. But there the similarities end. With creative scripts,
perfect pacing, and humor, the writers and producers of Battlestar Galactica
(or BSG) have navigated the rocky terrain of heavy drama better than Lost could
ever dream of doing.
So, I present just a few of the reasons that BSG is better
than Lost:
5. The Large Cast Issue
BSG has this one by a landslide. They’ve found a way to
balance all the different plotlines without focusing too much on any one or two
characters. On Lost, some characters received markedly more
attention/episodes/flashbacks than others, and it felt unbalanced.
4. The Dropped Plotlines Conundrum
I’m sad to report that at one time, I actually believed we
would discover whatever “island magic” it was that Locke saw right at the
beginning of the series. Every week, I’d think, “Well, this is definitely the
week when they’ll reveal that. They haven’t forgotten about that”. Uh, yeah. On
the Galactica, plot points actually mean something. Small character moments
find their way back into the story, often brilliantly.
3. Messed-Up Timelines
Remember how, on Lost, a week would go by and you’d watch a
new episode, and only a day had passed for the characters? And how weird that
felt? Yeah, me too. Lost really messed up by choosing to have time move by so
slowly. Flashback-flashforwards just don’t achieve the same result; too little,
too late. Some episodes of BSG covered a day, but by the next episode, a month
had gone by. They even had the courage to skip a whole year. Made things much more believable and interesting.
2. The Tertiary Characters Want Love Too
One of the biggest missteps Lost made was having so many
people on the island, but only focusing on a small group. Every time a tertiary
character inserted themselves into the main plot, it felt forced and
unrealistic. On BSG, when someone from one of the smaller ships joined the main
cast for one episode, you really believed that they were a part of the show
that you just didn’t happen to see until that moment. Lost never gave me a
reason to believe that Jack & Co. would really be the only people
exploring, questioning, etc.
1. Keep the Cast Intact!
Frankly, I don’t know how BSG navigated this one. Every
major show I’ve ever faithfully watched (Alias, The West Wing) has had major
cast changes by season 2. Not on the Galactica – the same 10 or so major
characters have stayed the same through all 3 seasons. Lost, even though they
had one of the largest casts in TV show history, still felt compelled to
introduce two other groups of major characters (the Tailies and the Others),
diluting the focus of the show and diverting attention from the original cast –
the ones whose fates we actually cared about.
I'm kinda bummed that we have to wait until January (it'll be 2008!!) to see new episodes of BSG. I cannot wait. I guess I'll have to make do with episode commentaries, podcasts, and video blogs until then. Thank goodness for the internet!
