In this image provided by ABC, from left, Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Maggie Grace (Shannon), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) and Emilie De Ravin (Claire) appear in the series finale of "Lost." (AP Photo/ABC, Mario Perez) NO SALESMario Perez/The Associated Press
And in the end, the confounding saga of Lost closed in the best tradition of such cult shows as The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek - to a huge TV audience and ticked-off fans.
Sunday night's emotional, vaguely ecumenical 21/2-hour Lost sendoff was watched by 13 million viewers in the United States, according to the early Nielsen numbers. The preceding tribute special, Lost: The Final Journey, pulled more than 11 million U.S. viewers. And ratings are expected to be commensurately high for Canadian television when CTV releases the numbers today.
Why higher-than-average ratings for a show that confuses even the people who have watched every single episode? Because it was a TV event. Even people who never watched Lost watched the finale, much the way people who never watch football will watch the Super Bowl or the O.J. verdict. People gathered in bars for the Lost finale!
But considering the sweeping wall of promotional advance building up to the sixth-season finish, 13 million seems a little on the low side. On American television, where numbers really count, 13 million viewers is not a big hit. Nobody expected Lost to draw the 50-million viewer sendoff range of Friends or Seinfeld, but the current edition of The Biggest Loser will finish its season to a much bigger TV audience. The final episode of The Sopranos pulled in 12 million U.S. viewers, and that was on HBO, a premium cable channel.
In the end, though, it didn't matter, because Lost rose above the tacky affairs of network ratings, or so it seemed. (Spoiler alert: Fans, if you haven't seen the last episode, stop here.)
In the end, the finale was one for the fans - whether they liked it or not.
It had to be, right? The bittersweet closing tableau of Jack (Matthew Fox) reunited with his dead father and several other passengers from Oceanic Flight 815, and dying a hero's death - the image of his closing eye, which mirrors the show's beginning, with his eye opening.
In the end, writer-producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, told the story, as it should be. They ended it their way.
Even with J.J. Abrams's imprimatur on the series, Lindelof and Cuse have been the primary storytellers on Lost, and they chose to close the show as tidily as possible, while leaving the true believers buzzing like angry Internet hornets.
Public opinion on the finale began roughly six minutes into the last show itself, around the time Sayid was reunited with Shannon. The New York Times called the finale a "copout." The L.A. Times gave it one star. A few critics, including the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan (no relation), adored the finale and waxed eloquently about it online.
As with Buffy and The X-Files, everyone will now immediately forget about Lost, except for those who will always remember where they were that finale night and thereafter attend conventions every year.
So was there closure for Lost fans? With all due respect, for the type of viewer who really supported and lived for Lost these past six years, there can never be closure. Trust me, someone is writing all these fan blogs.
It's easy to get obsessed with a show like Lost. And I mean really obsessed. I've always thought it was one of the smartest-written shows on TV; certainly the most ambitious. I also knew that ABC kept this show around for prestige and Emmy consideration, but this was pretty good television - like one long movie.
Did the finale work for me? I'd have to say yes, though my feelings have been tempered by doing a live chat with Lost expert Nikki Stafford every week this last season. I always liked Lost because of the writing - but my appreciation was drawn to the show's finer points, thanks to Nikki. I think Sunday's finale ranks right up there with the last episode of The Sopranos, if only because it left viewers wondering.
And talking.