Ding, Ding..What round are we in? Well whatever...

This actually started as a comment added to the string that began after the last post, but its better to let it out here and let the battle continue. So let me get this straight...by the logic I am reading about in both of your comments, they should've just squeezed Harry Potter all into one book, right? For every question in Lost there is an answer. There are constantly other mysteries popping up and other questions being answered, they just may not be coming as fast you want them to. If people don't have the attention span to move with the plot, then shows such as NCIS and sit-coms are really better for them. Lost is written much like a novel (or series of novels) or a screenplay. As I have said, it is not your average show by any means, which is why you may have to wait an entire season to get an answer that you are looking for, but if movies answered questions in the first 15 minutes to cater to the impatient, they wouldn't be very good and there would be no suspense. Not to mention this makes for absolutely killer finales and premieres.

Sidenote: obviously all shows are about the relationships of the characters, because without knowing and understanding each relationship, situations fall flat. That being said, every other criminal investigation show is about the relationships and character development as well. Heck, I've said it before and I'll say it again, all shows must have character development! Everyone knows that. I will give you that not every show crime show is based around humor, but thats just not what I'm looking for in this case. I love comedy, but if we are comparing Lost and NCIS and you are claiming NCIS is a comedy show, it is like comparing apples and oranges. In the same breath I will also say that there certainly has been shows about the evolution of man, unless I am the only person that can recall shows in which the main character(s) had supernatural abilities.

Plus, the plot of Lost is influenced by how real life would react. Even in fantasy situations, I look for realism because it helps further make you a believer in said fantasy. Theoretically if you found a hatch on a mysterious island that you crash landed on and never knew existed, do you think you would know exactly what the history was behind the hatch within hours? If Harry Potter was crammed all into one book, there would be nothing more to look forward to, nothing to stimulate your brain and make you think about what you have seen and what can possibly come next based on what you've seen so far. I'm not a huge Harry Potter follower so I dont know for sure, but did Potter fans not speculate, wonder or look forward to whats going to happen in the next book? Of course they speculated and wondered....why? Because they didnt get answers to all of their questions yet! With Harry Potter, like Lost there is a logic and a plan to it all.

I admit I liked Heroes, the first season was awesome, but allowing your fans to help you write story lines is just an indication that they don't have a plan and everything they've been building towards can just disappear, or in Heroes' case; disappear, then reappear. I couldn't take it anymore when Sylar was switching between bad guy and good guy more frequently than it happens in professional wrestling. Even if there was a tentative 'plan' and this was a plot device at the end or beginning of each episode, I will sum it up like this: I remember saying at the time that I still watched each week, that shocking twists are good, but only when it happens every so often. It felt for a while like every episode had some sort of shocking twist that quickly started to feel forced. I would be willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and assume that the corporate heads at NBC forced them to adjust storylines based on fan feedback. Adam, you even admit that Heroes couldn't keep up the good work in one of your prior posts:  "Without getting into too much plot detail Heroes has not been able to keep the same continued suspense, excitement and basic long term story interest. We are now in Season 3 and there are still good episodes but overall the magic from Season 1 is long gone." Sorry, I didnt mean to play dirty, but with that quote in mind, Heroes is still closer to Lost's playing field than NCIS is.

Now dont get all red in the face just yet, Sarah. I watched my very first full episode the other night because it was on TV, and you're right, that show should be considered more of a comedy than drama. (Which makes a Lost vs. NCIS debate almost completely irrelevant) In my opinion, it looks like they enjoyed the dynamic that was created in 'House' and they attempted to do something similar. I will say this much, it cant be easy to write for a show that has undertones of serious situations while at the same time having characters that absolutely cant help but to make a wise crack or attempted joke after every sentence. After only one episode under the belt, my main criticism is that there were just too many joke attempts. Maybe it's because I dont know the characters as well as you do. As I watched it I was thinking that next time I was going to keep a pad, pen and stopwatch nearby so I can mark how many seconds go by between each attempted joke.

I didnt say I dislike NCIS, and I said last week that Heroes might be worth my time again now that I can catch up without having a week to mull it over in between episodes. But the real bottom line is, we can debate our favorite shows until the cows come home and perhaps never come to an agreement or understanding, but I sure do enjoy our debates. Nothing but love for you guys.