Lost vs. Threshold

There are a couple new shows on that really wish they could be Lost -- Invasion and Threshold. I think Invasion is somewhat promising, but the comparison between Lost and Threshold shows why Lost is such a good show, and Threshold not so much.

With Lost, every show seems to further the story of the people and the island. Some episodes move the story along more than others, but I'm always wanting to see what will happen to them next. With Threshold, each episode (so far) is the same thing. The team needs to find another infected person. Ho hum, blah blah. It is more similar to the X-Files, with these almost-stand-alone missions, that all start to resemble one another. Occassionally on X-Files you'd get an episode that actually advanced the story, and I guess that will happen on Threshold too. But mostly it's just new ways to capture the bad guys.

With Lost, the characters reactions to unbelievable situations are belieavable. The writing is a step above. The characters don't have time to stop and make one-liners, or go off on ridiculous and unfunny tangents. They are in the middle of an unending crisis, and they react with the types of emotions and dialogue that I would expect. On Threshold, these tremendously unfunny characters are always making stupid jokes, or delivering these sickeningly melodramatic lines. Plus, their always having these long expositional conversations outside, in front of people that shouldn't really know we're being invaded by aliens. Blah.

Basically, I think Threshold is a pretty crap show. I don't know why I keep watching it. Maybe it will get better, but if it doesn't soon, I will stop. Lost, on the other hand... I wish it was on even more. Where the hell did Desmond get off to? He just disappeared! What happened to the other survivors? Did they get sick? Does the sickness only affect one part of the island? What was the second research station used for? Tune in next week, I guess.