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Hope not 'Lost' for good drama
(by Barbara Christian - July 07, 2010)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Hope not 'Lost' for good drama
In her recent column, Timy Sullivan did a great job reviewing the sad state of television comedy today. We do not disagree and would second that for TV drama. It's not much better.
If we are assaulted with one more courtroom series or one more cop series or one more hospital series, we will trade in our satellite dish for one of those Carol Burnett boxed sets Timy talked about.
There was one drama, however, that captured the attention of a lot of you, and it was neither cop nor courtroom nor hospital based.
All the buzz this spring was how "Lost" would end. Some folks liked the afterlife theme of that final show, while others were disappointed.
As Abe said, or maybe it was Milton Berl, "You can't please all of the people all of the time."
Confession. Until that grand finale, we had never watched a single episode. But that's OK. From what we understand, those of you who were faithful followers had no idea what was going on most of the time either.
That said, it wouldn't be too much of a reach if we were to put our oar in here and suggest how "Lost" should have ended. And so, without commercial interruption, here is our version of the last episode of "Lost." Cue the theme music, please.
The Lostites (or are we supposed to call them "Losers") stumble through the jungle and into a clearing where stands a sprawling, quaint, old farmhouse. It is shingled with shutters and has a wide front porch.
The Losers look at one another in amazement at the vision of comparative normalcy in the midst of the fantasy world in which they had been living for six seasons.
The door opens ever so slowly, and a middle-aged man steps out into the shadows of the porch. His face is obscured as he welcomes them inside. They have "reservations," he tells them ominously.
As the group moves toward the old house, the light changes, and the man's face is revealed. It's Bob Newhart, and they are in Vermont at the fictional inn owned by his character, Dick Loudon, from "Newhart," another blockbuster TV series which ran from 1982 to 1990.
Everyone is there, the goofy brothers Larry and Daryl and his other brother Daryl, handyman George Utley, along with the town's other eccentrics.
The Losers are invited inside. They are a perfect fit and are heartily welcomed into the cast of what remains one of the best TV sitcoms ever. Note: It doesn't have to make sense. Just go with it, people.
And our alternate "Lost" ending won't make sense unless you remember the still-talked-about final episode of that fabled "Newhart" show when the Vermont innkeeper wakes up as the psychiatrist Dr. Bob Hartley, who was also played by Bob Newhart in his 1972-1978 sitcom, "The Bob Newhart Show."
So as the "Newhart" theme rises and the credits roll on our last episode of "Lost," there is one more twist. Across the screen roll the words, "Only the Beginning."
Now it's up to some Hollywood writer to come up with a script that combines "Newhart" with "Lost" into one comedy, drama, fantasy.
That's a TV show we'd all watch.
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