LOST

I finally got my hands on Season 5 and watched all of it..yes I know, pretty much the same time that they started airing it on Star World...but well, I guess better late than never. and the good thing was that I got to watch all of it together which I think is very important while watching something as complicated as LOST. Also, an added advantage is to have Aru, my sister beside you because that girl has watched the show with so much concentration, paying attention to every detail that you are sure that you will never get lost in LOST! She will always tell you where the particular character had been shown for the first time and in what context and if you are luck she might even remember the episode name!
So, we all know the deal with LOST. Its been going on forever and they have played with every concept possible be it ghosts, monsters, time travel, going back and forth, flashes..name it and they would have definitely had a trace of it in some or the other episode..chances are you were confused and did not understand what was happening exactly and hence mixed up things and could not correlate!
Even though the series is so damn confusing and makes no sense...we still watch it...every single episode..hoping that..in this episode something will make sense....I think that is one of the reasons why people keep watching the show..the hope!!
Another reason why I think we watch it is because we all want to be on the island. In the season 5, it is obvious that the people were chosen to go to the island. They were not there by chance. So, I guess it is that feeling somewhere deep down in us that hopes that we will also be chosen someday to go and be on 'the island' is too much to say..maybe any random island...
Now that I am done doing all the bashing and telling you how bad the show is...I want to tell you the real reason as to why I keep watching the show. Actually its not just a single reason...

Reason 1 - The show is made so damn well. Every shot, ever reaction which is captured, the clothing, the attention to detail in every scene....it is just mind blowing.
The songs they choose, the books they read on the show, each and every thing is so well chosen and fits very well.

Reason 2 - I love the way they keep it complicated. It makes you think. You have to watch everything attentively. You cannot just watch it for the sake of it. It demands respect and attention. You have to look at every little thing in every shot...you never know where it is gonna come again.
Very few people I know love this show and have not given up on it by now. And we all have the same thing to say about it. The small things make the story and give u connections to things which you never thought were connected. The writers have done a very very good job and the makers of the show have done justice. And the ambiguity always remains. We can always expect the unexpected. It is not that I am comfortable with ambiguity or that I like living without knowing what is going to happen. But it is just that, there are very few shows where you do not know the end result. Think about it...every movie or show you have ever watched...you had a rough idea as to what was gong to happen in the end and in case you did not know exactly what was going to happen, I am sure you knew what could be the 2 possible endings or even three(I know I am giving too much credit to ordinary shows).

Reason 3 - Yes, I want to go to the island and be a part of it and see if I can live the life they are living and maybe survive even a single day. Also, as John Locke puts it, I want to know if the island will choose me and if I will be something else when I go to the island. I want to know if I have it in me to be on the island and unravel the mysteries, to hold a gun and shoot if necessary and know whom to trust and when to trust and do what it takes to save everybody, maybe even dying!

Reason 4 - The characters in LOST. Each one is so well thought of. Each one has a past, a present and a future. The strength and courage they exude is brilliant. The way they work things out even in the worst of the circumstances and do the unthinkable...hats off to the writers.
The people who act in the show are also very well chosen. I'd like to now describe a few characters in brief here..

Anna Lucia - She was one of my favourite characters in the show. Remember the Lady Cop who was strong and determined and was an absolute no nonsense person...Michelle Rodriguez was a wonderful choice for the role.I really wish they had kept her in the show.

Daniel Faraday - The crazy, meek looking, brilliant scientist. What an amazing character. He knew everything and the way he spoke about things and the theories which he had and his mouse Eloise..all just fit so well with the character. I really wish they had kept Faraday in the show too. But they have promised that all the characters will come back in the final season. Waiting for Season 6 eagerly! Faraday is played by Jeremy Davis.

Charlie Pace - Once again, they killed the character. He was the bass player of the band Drive Shaft when he got on the plane. A very brilliantly sketched character who dies trying to communicate with Penny's (Desmond's girl friend) people. The character is played by Dominic Monaghan.

Desmond Hume - He was not on the plane when it crashed. He was on the island before the crash. He washed onto the island when he was on a boat race around the world. The character is played by Henry Cusik. He was Faraday's constant and Faraday believed that Desmond was special and that the rules of the island would never apply to Desmond.

John Locke - This is the character who thinks that the island is his destiny and that he is someone when he is on it. In season 6 he is given an important role where he is expected to lead the people. He even dies and comes back to life on the island. But my theory is that, it was the guy who wanted to kill Jacob who took Locke's form and kills Jacob. They find Locke's body and soon realize that there are 2 Lockes. The conviction and the ability to believe that this character shows is phenomenal. The ability to know things without anybody telling them to him is also brilliant. The character is played by Terry O'Quinn.

Sawyer - This is one of my favourite characters. He is the unruly, bully kinda person you will find everywhere. Someone who normal people think is stupid and avoid and at the same time are scared of in some way or the other. The con man turned good guy in lost. The character is played by Josh Holloway. Sawyer never takes it upon himself to please anyone but he tries to at all times to help and has a thinking of his own and his judgement is really good most of the time. The scene in which he jumps off the helicopter just so that the others could go back is a really good scene which shows what he is really made up of.

Juliet Burke - I liked this character very much when she first showed up even though I was not supposed to like her at all, after all she was one of the others. A very beautiful blonde who is nothing like a blonde. She has her hand wrapped around every kind of situation, be it shooting an enemy or cooking dinner or even delivering a baby..she does it all!! A super woman of sorts who in the end of season 5 falls into the well and still survives to make it to the core of the bomb and detonate it. I think they have killed her as well in the series. The character is played by Elizabeth Mitchell, a very good actress.

Kate Austen - Once again a very well sketched character and a brilliant performance by the actress, Evangeline Lilly. She is beautiful and knows how to handle most situations well excepting for the Jack and James problem. She is the one Jack Shepherd and James Sawyer keep fighting for and till the end of season 5, nobody knows whom she goes to. She is a convict who reached the island in handcuffs and the island gives her a chance to live a free life once again. She is one character who dares to do anything and will do anything it takes. She takes Aaron, Claire's son and brings up as her own till the time comes when she has to return to the island. A very strong and beautiful character. One of the main ones in the series.

Sun Kwon - The typical rich girl who marries against her father's wishes. This is the character that Yunjin Kim plays in the form of Sun Known in LOST. There are a lot of things which are revealed about her on reaching the island. She gets pregnant on the island and has her kid once she gets back to the 'real world'. Once again, she is a very strong character and portrays a very strong woman capable of taking any decision at any time when required.

Jin Kwon - This is Sun's husband and he is the only character who does not speak English in the series. Even his wife knows English, even though she does not reveal it at first. He wants his wife to believe that he is dead so that she does not come back to the island looking for him when the 'Oceanic Six' make it back to the main land. The character is played by Daniel Dae Kim.

Jack Shepherd - The doctor who wants to fix everything. He is a character who is confused at times and some times knows what to do when. Somebody who looks for a reason to do things. A very rational character who believes in right and wrong. He tries to lead the people most of the time and at times ends up making wrong decisions. The character is played by Matthew Fox. In season 5 he ends up believing in is destiny and actually thinking that Locke is right in whatever he does.

Sayid - Sayid is played by NAveen Andrews. He is an ex military officer and cpable of bearing and inflicting pain which is unthinkable. He plays a very strong character in the series, someone who minds his own business and at the same time does what it takes to get things up and running. His ability to fix electronic goods is also shown to a great extent in the series.

These were a few of my favourite characters. Some others are:

Frank Lapidus - the Pilot
Charlotte - the anthropologist
Miles - the guy who talks to ghosts and dead people
Michael - He is on the island and manages to get off it and then comes back to it I think.
Walt - Michael's son. Who in the course of the show..grows up..

Boon and Libby - The brother sister duo who land on Oceanic 815. Both die on the island.

Claire - Aaron's mother

LOST has so many characters...at times it does get a little difficult to remember all of them. But each one has their special place in the series and each one does something meaningful and has a story which backs up their character...