There’s a great story in The New Republic on the arrival of the latest set of Lost episodes. Like me, the author feels the show has lost some of it’s allure. From the article:

At first, I followed “Lost” with devotion, assiduously avoiding all press about the show for fear of spoilers. I paid close attention to the backgrounds of the flashback scenes for clues. And I felt certain that I would follow John Locke to the ends of the Earth were I on that enigmatic island. And yet, with each subsequent episode, I started to wonder: Are the writers just throwing crazy ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks? I started to imagine scruffy writers with masters’ degrees sitting around saying, “You know what would be cool? Let’s make the hatch blow up and some scientists in the–get this!–the arctic notice the electromagnetic force it creates. And then, let’s not refer back to this for, say, ten episodes!” And here I am. I feel used and disillusioned.

I’ve had the same problem with the show over the last few months. I’m searching for something to grasp in the plot, a coherence that just has been lost over the last few seasons. The show is still decent, and I still don’t want to miss it, but it’s no longer amazing. The discoveries and parallels are more mundane and the characters far less interesting.

On top of that, we’ve lost the smoke monster, we’ve abandoned the two new characters introduced awkwardly at the start of season 3, and some of the best characters were killed off. That last is emblematic of the shows current problems. Eko was killed off unexpectedly but completely without surprise. It just wasn’t shocking.

On top of this, there is a lack of underlying coherence. How did we not know a second island was there? If they have television and connectivity from the island, why couldn’t they get in better medical supplies or a doctor?

You see, the coherence of a good piece of science fiction is incumbent upon it having rules. Not rules that obey the laws of physics, time, or “reality,” necessarily; there can be aliens and clairvoyance and, yes, smoke monsters. But, whether your scene takes place in Middle Earth, zero-gravity, a Quidditch field, or the distant future, the story must be conceived with the parameters and limitations of that new world. Otherwise, there is no prism through which to view the struggles of the characters. Without rules there is an anarchy of story–an unsatisfying state where the author can simply say, “Hocus Pocus!” and all is well or, worse, leave all the loose ends unresolved and say, “It was all a dream” (as was the case when “Dallas” producers brought Bobby Ewing back to life–his death a year earlier having been nothing more than Pamela Ewing’s nightmare. The seventh season of “Dallas” now lives in ignominy as “the dream season”). Like all great narratives, a supernatural mystery still needs the elements of any good story: a setting, themes, character arcs, struggle, resolution. In other words, a plot. To this end, I fear “Lost” has, er, lost its way.

I’m really hoping that the break allowed them to write more than just the next few episodes. The show still has a rich universe to draw from. I hope they get it right this season.