Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Lostaholics Anonymous

Date: September 22, 2010

[INT: Meeting hall. Several people are gathered inside, some huddled against one another, whispering. Some sniffling is heard, while others quietly weep in the corner. A few people are wearing tan-coloured jumpsuits with strange patches on the chest.]

Nikki: Hello everyone, and welcome to the first meeting of the Nik at Nite chapter of Lostaholics Anonymous, LA for short.

[A brunette in the back corner suddenly wails loudly.]

Sonshine Music: You said ‘LA’!! The plane never even MADE it to LA... waaaaaah....

Nikki: Sorry, Sonshine. It’s been a long summer, and I know we’ve all been through a lot, but this is a place we’ve made together, where we can all talk about what we’ve been through. We are gathered here today, on the sixth anniversary of the plane crash, to discuss, OK, bear with me as I say it: Lost.

[A few people erupt in extreme sobbing. A couple in the corner leans on each other for support, and the man is mysteriously wearing cabbage leaves on his head.]

Nikki: Many of us know each other already, having spent the last three or four years discussing the ins and outs of Lost on my blog, Nik at Nite. We’ve anticipated the beginning of many seasons together, we’ve discussed the minutiae of each episode long into the night, we’ve had disagreements, and we’ve expressed joy at just being together and getting to know one another. We followed the show right to “The End,” and some of us liked it, others didn’t. We chatted about the show for a week or so after it ended, and then I sadly had to disappear to go and write a book. Some of us were forced to let it go quicker than others, and for me, that moment came when I watched the book go to the printer. And then I suddenly felt as empty and bereft as so many of you did.

[The sobs quiet, while the noises of nose-blowing can be heard throughout the hall.]

Nikki: And so we’re here now, and we’re going to ease each other through this withdrawal process. We will follow a few of the normal therapy steps, but Lostaholics Anonymous isn’t like other programs. We’re not here to cut Lost out of our lives. We are here to continue the discussion and come to terms with the fact that we’re not weird for wanting to talk about it. We need to accept that Lost will always be a part of us, even if we move on and watch other shows. We’re not betraying Darlton by watching other television shows; we’re just moving on in a way. We’ve all dealt with our withdrawal in different ways, some of us… um… [Nikki spots a few Jearded folks throughout the audience] in more, uh, unique ways. But now we can do it together.

[Nikki puts up a large poster on the wall behind her.]

Nikki: So now, if you’ll all say it along with me, it’s time for our serenity prayer.

All: “Jacob grant me the Serenity to accept that Lost is over, the Courage to continue to talk about it without feeling sad, and the Wisdom to let it go.”

Nikki: Now, does anyone want to start?

[One of the crazily bearded men stands up in the middle of the room.]

Man: WE HAVE TO GO BAAAACK!!!

Nikki: OK, OK, I understand, but… wait… Blam, is that you? Where the hell did that beard come from?

Blam: I, uh... oh... this? Um... well, see, I haven’t had time to shave because I’ve been rewatching the episodes, and for some reason on a rewatch Jack’s beard didn’t look so disgusting, and the next thing you know, uh... You know what? A diagram would explain it better. Does anyone here have a napkin and a pen??

Nikki: You know what, it’s OK. Listen, guys, what I want to do each Wednesday (because Wednesday nights still feel like Lost nights, regardless of what night season 6 appeared on) is discuss an aspect of the show. You can contribute as little or as much as you’d like, and this will just be a place to get our Lost fix as we slowly let go of our obsession. So far this new fall season of TV, despite half of them touting themselves as the new Lost, just hasn’t given us anything that feels remotely Lost-like. So for now, we’ll grieve the end of our show, discuss some of the finer points now that we’ve had more time to think about all of them, and talk about new shows that we should be watching.

So, this week I’m just looking for a show of hands. Who’s interested in being a part of this group? And let me know if you have any particular topics you want to discuss. Let’s start our group discussion below.

Next week: Our favourite moments.

58 comments:

AEC said...

I'm in! In the past I've primarily read all the comments and not left many of my own, but this sounds great. I was just thinking the other day how weird it is to have the fall shows starting with no Lost to look forward to. *tear*

Jojo said...

I'm in. You are so fun.

Gillian Whitfield said...

I'm in! My name is Gillian, and I'm a Lostaholic

Unknown said...

Me me me!

Colleen/redeem147 said...

Me! I've been rewatching season six, and tomorrow is The End. :(

I can't go back to the beginning, because my brother and his daughter borrowed my DVDs. So I welcome a place to talk about the series.

In conclusion, "SAYIIIIIIIID!"

Erin {pughs' news} said...

I am IN. My name is Erin, and I'm a (proud, and unlikely to recover) Lostaholic!

TresBelleKnits said...

*raises hand* I'm Christina, I still cry when I just THINK about Lost...so I guess that makes me a Lostaholic.

Jen said...

I'm in, too, Nikki!

From Jen, one of the Lost bloggers from the Wash. Post

A.G.Wooding said...

Hi, I'm Andrew and I can't watch the finale without having to take painkillers afterwards because of all the crying and severe weeping...that means I want to join. :D

Let's just hope our children won't turn up at these meetings and beat us up, unlike this one loser I know...

Jay Menard said...

Hey Nik!

I'll join if I can be president of an off-shoot support group -- The Guys Who Love Dark-Haired Claire. With all the focus on Kate, Claire didn't get the appreciation she deserved -- and with the dark hair? Forget about it!

Anonymous said...

Oh Nikki, I am so in. I have already rewatched The Complete Collection three times since it came out. I NEED TO GO BACK!!!

Chris said...

I'm in.....if it means there will be more pics of Desmond upcoming... I keep wondering what date the new season is going to start and then realizing that it's not...a week depression and it starts again...UGH.

humanebean said...

Well, I guess I'm in. I mean, I'm not like you other people (hahahahaha, "Other" people, get it? hahahaha ... hrm) who can't seem to get LOST out of your system. I'm not out there hatching (hahahahaha, "Hatch", get it? hahahaha ... *cough*) new ways to stay connected to the show.

For me, the show ended (ha! "The End"!) a few months ago and I've had no trouble letting go. (see what I did there?) I can quit any time I like. Really. Anytime. Like right after I get through watching the Bonus Features on Season 6. Yep. Just turn that sucker off and GO BACK to my regular life. (ha) I'm not stuck in some endless rewatch or in some confusing sideways world or locked in some stinkin' polar bear cage or trapped in a cave-in or handcuffed to a Federal Marshall or running through the jungle being chased by some Smoke Monster or .... or ....

Um.

*sigh* My name is humanebean and I'm a LOSTaholic. It's been 42 minutes since my last watch.

Do we have Dharma Beer?

SenexMacDonald said...

Hi, all:
My name is Cindy. I have been living off the dregs of YouTube LOST spots for the entire summer. My icon is Darlton at the office - as posted by Nikki.

I am so hopeless without LOST so I too will join this group in the hope that someone, someday, will come rescue me from the Island. Then and only then can I put my time there aside - I hope.

Amy Lynn said...

I am in. Thank goodness something has come along where I can meet with Others (or should I call you Natives)who feel as lonely as I do without our favorite show. People just dont understand when I tell them how much I miss the show. I know here I will get the support I need, and maybe one day...move on.

The Question Mark said...

(A slightly unhinged and confused young man who looks like he's wearing a dollar-store Riddler Halloween costume stands up from somewhere in the middle of the hall and speaks)

QUESTION MARK: I can't remember why I'm here.

(Nikki hands the confused young man a Finding Lost book. The moment his hand touches it, memories of his lexperiences with the television pehnomenon known as LOST come flooding back to him in a whirlwind of emotion and orchestral accompnaiment)

QUESTION MARK: Oh my god! I remember! My name is Andrew, and I'm a Lostaholic, too!

SamBeckett said...

More Nikki, more Lost and more of my favorite Lost commentators!!! Can't see anything wrong with that :)

Leslie said...

Like water in the (Tunisian)desert!

Cheryl said...

The first step is admitting you have a problem. Hi, my name is Cheryl and I'm deep in the throes of a rewatch binge. I have less than half left and I'm already feeling twitchy!

Marebabe said...

Count me in! Hi. My name is Mary, and I'm a Lostaholic.

VW: crash. I swear I am not making this up.

Batcabbage said...

Hi, I'm a Cabbage made entirely of Bats, and I'm a Lostaholic.

VW: stickall - the start of a sentence.

"Where do you want this stuff?"

"Stickall of it in the corner."

gsk326 said...

I have mostly been a follower of this site. I have been checking Nik at Nite almost daily just looking for any posts that deal with lost.

My name is Gary and I am a lostaholic.

I am definitely in!

Pamalamb said...

Yes! I was hoping for something like this. Thank you Nikki for being there.

Efthymia said...

I definitely need the support, so count me in. Although I've never really added much to the discussions, the LOST community is one of the things I really miss, and it will be nice to have other LOSTaholics around, even if it is just to say "hi!" once a week...

JS said...

I am mostly a binge re-watcher, doing 3 -4 episodes in a row. Sometimes, I do a whole season in one weekend. And with the bonus DVD’s, I’ve been known to hoard the extras, trying to stretch them out as long as possible. “I’ll only do one today” I say to myself. It sometimes works.

I saw a tweet from someone saying they never lip-synched to Lost. I didn’t know there was anything wrong with that.

I’ve been trolling Lost sites for any nugget of discussion or information. I even check the ones that haven’t had updates for weeks. I will read anything Lost related, from anywhere, anytime. I even responded to a poll asking about Locke’s best knife moment. (Actually, that wasn’t bad, I just had to watch them to decide…). I guess I have a few favorites that still have daily updates, but I don’t always feel “a part of”, know what I mean?

I am so glad I can finally come (back) to a place where there are people like me, who love Lost, and do not feel the need to denigrate anyone who doesn’t agree with them.

I guess what I am saying is, I’m Joanne, and I’m a Lostaholic.

Suggested Topics – character related (pearson moore style), season related, theme related, use of music, best of?, worst of?, what is the light? What is the island? How did the electromagnetism work? Why did Eloise know everything? So called unanswered questions.

And then next week………

word verif: rillywa. what a "regular" person says to an LA discussion of yet another bizarre discovery.

- did you realize the name of the funeral home is an anagram for a theme of the season?

- Rilly? Wa??

Lisa(until further notice) said...

Count me in as one of the many and proud. Nikki's blog and your posts only made it more of an adventure.

During my attempted recovery, I've spent the summer searching for something to watch. I have done a rewatch of seasons 1-3 so far. I've watched all of Doctor Who but the last season with the new Doctor as it's not on DVD yet, but I don't know how I will go on without David Tennant (but I digress). I've caught up on Fringe, got hooked and then became disappointed in Rescue Me, am about to begin season 2 of Torchwood. These are just filler, however, for what's really missing. So...back to it. My name's Lisa, and I'm a Lostaholic.

Paticus said...

I'm in.As is Dave, my imaginary friend.

yourblindspot said...

Yes yes yes!!! And we'll all stay up 'til 3am talking mythology and symbology and trading fanfic and listening to Mama Cass records and knitting Dharma trivets and playing chess and senet and Operation and Risk and giving each other Sawyer nicknames and eating ranch dressing and making crafty replica squirrel babies, and we'll all drink out of the same water bottle! For, like, years, dude!

This is gonna be the best sleepover ever.

Bridget said...

I'm in.

Ambivalentman said...

I know I'm a bit late, this being Thursday and all, but I'm in for any sort of discussion with all you beautiful people!

I've been staring at my season 6 DVD set lately, thinking of watching it, but afraid of having to see the show end all over again. Can I handle that sort of agony? AHHHHHHH!!!

My name is Man, Ambivalentman, and I'm a Lostaholic.

TerriDufour said...

I am TOTALLY IN.

Austin Gorton said...

Sign me up! No way I'm missing out on any Lost discussion 'round these parts.

PS If only Blam's jeard wasn't a work of fiction...

Anonymous said...

In

I think one fun topic would be "Answering Unanswered Questions"

-Tim Alan

Quarks said...

This is a great idea! I'm so in! I've been suffering from Lost withdrawal symptoms ever since I watched the finale, and I definitely need some way to let out all my thoughts and memories of the greatest show ever.
Now I've got one week to try and narrow down all my favourite moments into an amount that won't take YEARS to write. Either that or I could turn a donkey-wheel, travel back in time, write it, then try to detonate a hydrogen bomb to return to now and post it.

Ian Locke said...

I'm in!

paleoblues said...

I've got the paleo Lost blues.

None of the new shows have grabbed me. Just what was it about Lost that lured me in? The sad thing for me is I "can't go back" and experience it for the first time over again.

Yes, I've rewatched it over and over again, but it's not quite the same when you already know what's coming. There's no anticipation or having to wait a week or months for the next episode.

But, I'm still watching it and gaining new insights (and even keeping notes) and wishing I had someone to talk to.

With a big YES, count me in.

oldrunner262 said...

Count me in too. i have been watching most of the new shows on the networks, but none have come even close to grabbing me like LOST did.

Joan A said...

I'm in. I'm Joan A and I'm a Lostaholic. Not because I choose to--because I'm supposed to. I tried to leave but Universe has course corrected and I'm still here.

LRTFaraday said...

Hi - count me in too, any topic about lost, anything at all...I'm just in desperate need to be Lost. It's an addiction. I'm as you say a "lostaholic".

Sounds like fun!

JenniferS said...

I have 56 episodes on my DVR, many of them duplicates, all "locked" in case someone fat-fingers the wrong button. I'm in!

Xell said...

My name is Meritxell and I am a Lostaholic.

I would love to join this support group.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a button to press...

EvaHart said...

Awesome! With the DVD out I was wondering what would fuel the Lost obsession until Finding Lost. Bring on the discussion!

Topic idea- Best one-liners??

Sharon said...

My students will be forever in your debt for providing this much needed support, Nikki. They are becoming rather concerned about my emotional outbursts as they work the math problems I create for them...about surviors of a plane crash...stranded on an island...playing rounds of go-fish for mangoes...or perhaps solving number patterns etched on mysterious metal doors they found in the jungle...

WDR said...

My DVD set rests on the coffee table while I wait for the companion book to be released in November before I watch Season 6 again. I am so jealous of you people who have already re-watched Season 6 (some multiple times).

My name is Bill and I suspect I am a LOSTaholic. Count me in!

Joan Crawford said...

I'm in! This isn't really a topic but I am quite interested in finding out what was written on the papers the survivors stuck in the bottle. The Bottle of Secrets I Must Know.

@JenniferS - ...in case someone fat-fingers the wrong button

HA! My new favorite saying :D

sk said...

I knew that I was not the only one. Whew !

humanebean said...

@Joan - did you ever see the Bonus Feature (on Season 2 DVD's, I think it was) about the LOST Night of Music held in Hawaii? I don't remember if it was Giacchino conducting, but they did an entire evening of music and show snippets. BUT - the best part was that Terry O'Quinn was there and did brief readings in between segments. Someone had written out faux bottle messages from our LOSTaways and Terry did dramatic readings of them accompanied by the musical score. Good stuff!

LittleMo said...

I read your post and thought you really were in a room on Wednesday !! - until I saw the invite for comments !! :-) Duh

I'M IN

and I'll do what I've always done from the UK - join late (I only discovered your books in about series 4 and then this blog in season 5) and we usually got to see the episodes a few days after you so my posts were always a few days old (like this one !)

note to self - must try to keep up

I'm going to wait to rewatch the last season when I get your (wonderful) book - which of course will arrive here late after it has crossed the atlantic, or North pole or where ever the freight plane flies

LittleMo said...

lets hope it doesn't crash on an island !!! :-)

Elena said...

I'm in!! My name is Elena and I'm a Lostaholic too!

Susan said...

I'd like to take part in this too.

Rebecca T. said...

WooHoo! I made it into the LA (wahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!) meeting :D

I am so in (even though right now Wednesdays are the days of death) But I'll be here! I swear I will!

My name is Rebecca (aka SonshineMusic) and I am a Lostaholic. I haven't rewatched any episodes since the season finale for fear of complete and total mental breakdown. It is finally starting to hit me that there will no longer be any new episodes of Lost and I think I may just crack under the pressure. *sniff sniff*

See you all Wednesday.

VW: matedi - Princess Di's husband?

Aparatchick said...

I'm in. I was thinking the other night that the universe needs a course correction that would bring LOST back .... so, yeah, I'm clearly a Lostaholic.

Anonymous said...

I have been out of touch, but I am VERY interested!

Favorite part, umm, can't choose just now.

Celandine

Unknown said...

Hand raised and waving wildly!

Fables Of The West said...

My name is Ken, and I'm a LOSTaholic...

Jazzygirl said...

Wow am I late to the party! I've had so much going on in my life (and most of it not good) that I haven't had ANY time to check in on here or other sites. :(
And last week on my page a day calendar, it marked the 6 year anniv. of the plane crash. So I've been thinking a lot about LOST this week, especially now that I'm back to work teaching and that calendar is on my desk.
I've also been thinking a lot about it because of personal events. I'd like to expand on that but looking over these comments, it appears we haven't started the discussions yet. So I'll hold off until we do. However the topic for me right now is "dead is dead". My hope is that in talking through LOST it will help me with the things I'm going through. Now hopefully someone reads this post! :)

Blam said...


First of all: Okay, I've been gone a while. I did get to check out this post a couple of months ago when Joan said my ears should be burning — or words to that effect, not that I would put it past her to set me on fire for sport, although actually burning my ears would place the dimples that fascinate her so in considerable jeopardy — but I've been having problems getting and staying online much.

Second of all: Um... Nikki? I usually do have a beard. Right now I'm sporting a true goatee, i.e. a patch of chin fur sans mustache, but when you wrote this I looked very much like I do in the icon photo above, which I took right before Season Six of Lost started in February; if you go back to posts from that time here, you'll see it.

Third of all: Honeychild, I'm tickled beyond measure to be included in your little fever dream of Nik at Nite all-stars, but I miss you and your cohort of commenters, not Lost itself, except in the sense that I miss what Lost was and the potential it still had a couple of years ago. As I suspect I'll elaborate on if I read the latest post in this category, and as I said as the series drew to a close, I didn't dislike the finale for the most part but I strongly dislike what the showrunners did with Season Six as a whole, to the point where I really don't want to be reminded of it.

Maybe that was Evil Blam? 8^)

VW: talea — (Tale A) First storyline in a Choose Your Own Adventure book.