Lost, one long mystery worth watching

My wife and I just finished season 2 of the show "Lost". Yes, I know we are a bit behind as they're now in what? Season 6? Well, this is how it is with us. We don't have cable, only internet, but with Netflix we can just stream it online. And so when we watch a series it's usually several seasons into it when we're just starting. This is actually highly enjoyable, because not only are there no commercials, but also we can really get into the show and watch up to several episodes back-to-back if we feel like it.

I have been highly impressed with this series so far. The story is extremely unique and engrossing. The main story of plane wreck survivors on an island along with "the others" (a mysterious group who were already on the island) is complemented by the back story of each of the main characters. Part of a back story for one main character is weaved into the main story, a specific character's story for each show. Because of these back stories the first season really seemed to be taking off slowly for me. But the mysteries of the island were unraveling and they kept me watching.

See at first, the back stories were completely secondary to me. I thought the story of the show was just about the island. So I waited patiently through the back stories, thinking they'd be over by the second season and then we'd really get into the real meat of the story. By the end of season 2 though, I noticed my stance had changed very naturally. The back stories continued, some more on the characters we've already come to know and love, and some new characters altogether. The back stories had become just as relevant as the main story.

It really amazes me to watch a good series, especially one that is able to run several seasons well. How can they weave a story together so well over so long? It's extremely impressive to me. As I am a slow fiction reader, I'm not used to this sort of thing. I've never been able to finish a book longer than two or three hundred pages (and that's extremely difficult for me, just not my thing)... So this, a good 17-20 hours of story per season, for six or seven seasons, is just so impressive to me. So many characters woven together seamlessly, a mystery that keeps you on your toes throughout its entirety, by the end of every 40-minute show thirsty for another 40 minutes to solve some more mysteries and uncover new ones... It's such a feat of intelligence I think.