Dude! and, Word!

My husband Enrico has commented that if I want the general public to come read my blog (mmmm, still undecided on that one), I should write about the TV shows Lost and Alias all the time, because it seems they have a huge Internet following. It's true. I have gotten sucked into the message board world a little bit, and these shows - like Buffy the Vampire Slayer before them - generate passionate and copious Internet discussion. And in addition to enjoying these shows, I'm fascinated by the message board subculture.

Sure, a good number of the entries go something along the lines of "Dude! That rocked! I am so this show's bitch!" or "Word! Worst. Episode. Ever."

But at their best, these discussions are like attending a virtual lit class. There are entire threads dedicated to "Literary Parallels in Lost" or "The Numerology of Alias" or "Religion in the Battlestar Galatica Universe." Each character gets their own thread, where they are analyzed, parsed, critiqued - something I find fascinating as an aspiring writer, seeing what people find credible or compelling in a fictitious character, what sounds a jarring or false note, which little details of writing or acting help paint a vivid and believable character. Board posters craft elaborate theories and analyses, drawing on literature, mythology, other television shows and movies, and plot leaks from the television gossip columns. It takes me back to high school English, or college French, and the feeling of satisfaction when I had written a particularly well-reasoned paper on a work of literature. The feeling of flexing the muscles of my brain. On the Internet, no less! Go figure.

I'm also fascinated by the evolution of language which is happening on the Internet, for which I've been trying to pull together in a cohesive post but haven't managed yet. I'm sure there have been graduate theses and scholarly articles in linguistics written on that subject. It seems the Internet has rejuvenated the art of literary criticism and debate, the art of writing, and even the evolution of language itself. I think that's all kind of cool.

So - They killed Boone on Lost. I still don't think they needed to kill anybody off, and thought it was surprisingly cliched the way they did it, with Claire's baby being born at the same time - the classic death/life cycle. But, did you notice that Jack's fiancee had a big 44 on her shirt in the flashback - what's up with that?? And I'm dying to know the deal with the hatch, and Locke and Rousseau (oh come on, can those names really be random?). So, R.I.P. Boone, and - I am still so this show's bitch!