Rating A-

The major complaint of film vs. literature is film’s inability to elaborate due to time constraints. No matter how great the movie is, nobody wants to sit through more than 3 hours (and that’s the max).

TV shows however transcend that barrier. The average book takes what, 15-20 hrs to read? Hour long sitcoms (about 43 minutes commercial free) have roughly 22-24 unique episodes per year. That is about 15-17 hours, the same as a book.

With TV shows the issue is lack of quality. Lost has made it into what I call HQE (High Quality Entertainment). HQE invokes inspiration. HQE stimulates the emotions. HQE requires intellectual investigation. Like literature, it requires an active mind, not merely a passive browsing. Even more impressive, Lost is in it’s third season. That’s like the freaking Lord of the Rings.

Can Lost propel the TV drama into the media-of-choice over film? Has it “one-upped” the movie industry? The cinemetography, direction, acting, writing and budget (perhaps most important) of Lost have certainly rivaled if not surpassed the best films that Hollywood produces. Lost deserves an A because it is better than a movie, but I gave it an A- because I hope other shows will step up to the plate and make something better.

Even my bookshelf is becoming jealous of my entertainment center. Lost occupied that time block I normally reserve to a good book. Like I said, it’s better than the average movie and just as good as literature. But don’t watch Lost on-air, buy/rent/borrow/steal the DVD. Personally, I don’t know how anyone can stand watching TV shows on TV!   How can you wait a week!

Guaranteed, if you don’t want to miss out on future lunch break conversations, you need to catch up on Lost. It will be a certain addition to the social cannon.