Television: Complexity Without Commitment

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J.J. Abrams and the Art of the Narrative
Published 8/24/2008 by By The New York Times at TV Decoder
In Sunday’s New York Times, Dave Itzkoff profiles J.J. Abrams, the creator of “Lost,” who “practically invented” a TV storytelling style that “demands total commitment from audience members, requiring that they keep up not only with complicated single-episode plotlines (can a time-traveling castaway alter past events to help himself in the present?) but also with fiendishly intricate narratives (how did the Oceanic Six get off their mysterious island, and how might they get back?) that can take an entire season — or seasons, plural — to play out.” Mr. Abrams’ latest series, ...

Channel Surfing: "Doctor Who" Feature Possible, J.J. Abrams Talks "Fringe," Rainn Wilson, and More
Published 8/25/2008 by Jace (noreply@blogger.com) at Televisionary
... the differences in telling stories with self-contained episodic storylines like Fringe and the Byzantine plots of series like Lost and Alias . just got tired of hearing people say to me, over and over, ‘Yeah, I was watching it, but I missed one, I got really confused, and I stopped watching it,’” Abrams said in a recent phone interview. He goes on to discuss just went wrong with Alias . And no it wasn't the giant orange floating ball that was supposedly Rambaldi's endgame. ( New York Times ) Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times has interviewed Shawn Ryan about the end of ...