"Lost" Series Finale: Reviews, Analysis, Comments, Reactions, and More

"Lost" is over, but the discussion and analysis has just begun. Sunday's mind-bending "Lost" series finale created more questions than it answered, with many fans loving it, others hating it, and still others scratching their heads.

To supply your own comments, and here what other fans think, I recommend checking out the latest episode of "The Transmission," the excellent "Lost" podcast by Ryan and Jen Ozawa in Hawaii (as I mentioned in my previous post on the "Lost" series finale), which the podcasters recorded not long after the finale aired. There are more than a thousand comment on their blog post for that podcast episode.

Also check out Jay and Jack's "Lost" podcast, which should be up on Wednesday (the two hosted a "Lost" finale viewing party in Los Angeles on Sunday, so apparently were not recording their usual night-of podcast).

To see what the press thought of the "Lost" series finale, here's a roundup of reports from the Web:
* Entertainment Weekly's Jeff "Doc" Jensen has an extensive recap of of the "Lost" season finale, in two parts. See his "Lost" finale recap, part one and "Lost" finale recap, part two
* A brief MTV.com article says that "Big questions [were] answered in series finale," but notes that "In typical "Lost" fashion, some show mysteries remain open for debate"
* In the L.A. Times, Maria Elena Fernandez says that the "'Lost' finale creates islands of thought", but that paper's TV critic Mary McNamara was less impressed, remarking that "Lost" was "nothing more or less than a love story"
* AP TV columnist Frazier Moore says "'Lost" addresses years of questions in finale"
* USA Today's review says of the "Lost" finale, "Redemption as 'The End' justifies the journey"
* Over at the New York Times, the Artsbeat blog found the "Lost" finale "gauzy, vaguely religious, more than a little mawkish"
* Newsweek says the episode "encapsulated the show's essence," writing that, "The 'Lost' finale will cause endless debate. In that way, it was a perfect encapsulation for the entire series"
* Time's Tuned In blog offers a lengthy review of "The End," calling it "a moving, soulful finale"

And for some interesting articles on "Lost" that don't necessarily have to do with the series finale:
* Wired.com takes a fascinating look at various aspects of creating "Lost" and making it work, from the mysteries of The Island to a map of the links between the key characters, from how Geronimo Jackson was brought to life to the "continuity czar" who kept "Lost"'s characters, and chronology, on track
* MTV.com notes that "Lost" creators promise to give more answers to the show's questions in a 20-minute segment on a DVD bonus feature (the "Lost" Season 6 DVD comes out in August)
* Paste Magazine has an article on the literary inspirations for the show, looking at "Eight books that have influenced the island"
* The blog Stories in My Pocket offers a humorous list of "Lost" spin-offs they'd most like to see

"Lost" Finale: Show Ends Tonight; Podcasts to Go On

The "Lost" finale will mark the end of the wildly popular TV show tonight, and many fans will be left wondering what to do with themselves once it ends. Fortunately, two (and maybe more) of the long-running podcasts devoted to the show will be continuing, at least for a little while. This is good news for "Lost" fans, especially those who (like me) really enjoy the work of these podcasters.

"The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack," featuring the father-and-son team of Jay and Jack Glatfelter, is planning on doing "Lost" podcasts for the indefinite future with "re-watch" podcasts devoted to reviewing previous seasons of the show. Fans of Jay and Jack will also be able to hear one or another of the duo and its friends on shows including "The Jay and Jack Podcast" and "The Married Man Podcast," and their writings and videos on Yublog and NuDia.tv.

"The Transmission," created by the husband-and-wife duo of Ryan and Jen Ozawa, will also continue beyond the run of the TV show, at least for a little while. The couple, who live in Hawaii and have brought a local flavor in terms of identifying locations and sightings of film shoots, will do wrap-up of the final "Lost" episode on May 30th, and a show covering the entire series sometime after they. They've indicated they may do some future "Lost" re-watch podcasts, and they emphasize that their blog at "The Transmission" Web site will remain up for viewer/listener comments.

Ryan and Jen also do the "Hawaii Up" podcast, and this summer will be starting up a new pop-culture podcast called "Popspotting" that will cover movies, books, TV, and music.

While I'll miss having these podcasts to analyze each new episode of "Lost," I'm glad to know I'll still be able to hear the familiar voices of these podcasters on a regular basis. It's good to see that they've gotten some well-deserved attention in the mass media in recently articles on the ending of "Lost," including the L.A. Times (Jay and Jack) and the New York Times (Ryan and Jen).

And of course there's plenty of speculating on what will be in the "Lost" finale, as addressed in questions to executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

The two-and-a-half-hour "Lost" finale airs at 9 p.m. Eastern, but will be preceded by two hours of recap shows.

And now, in honor of the "Lost" finale, some random lost wackiness that I've encountered on the Web the last few days:
* a photo gallery of "Lost" cakes
* Kevin Garnett explains the island to teammate "Big Baby" Davis on the Celtics' bench:

'Lost' audio: Garnett explains the island to 'Big Baby' from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.

* the entire "Lost" series, explained in one minute by cats: