Well, this week has seen perhaps three of the biggest cult hits of the last decade end their seasons. 24, Heroes, and Lost are perhaps the biggest shows amongst the younger viewers that advertisers crave so much, and each show also shares something else: a rabid fanbase. These fanbases are devoted, and I have been a part of each of them since each series began. Which is why I want to, over the next few days, consider the way these three shows ended their seasons. I want to do so on a number of levels (Because my decision on quality will be one-sided). While the others will take time, the first thing that we need to consider is gloriously quantitative.
The Ratings
[Ratings Data from PIFeedback and TheFutonCritic]
Lost
Hour One
Total Viewers: 12.4 Million
18-49: 5.2
Hour Two
Total Viewers: 15 Million
18-49: 6.4
Total Average
Total Viewers: 13.66 Million
18-49: 5.8
Lost needs to be commended for a HUGE Post-Idol boost, as people seemed willing to watch just the final hour of the season after the reality show concluded. That huge boost in viewership boosts Lost’s total viewers ahead of Heroes, and its overall 18-49 within the same range. Facing off against stiffer competition, Lost is inevitable the ratings champion amongst the three shows with a strong performance in all key categories in the tougher spot…and it bodes well for next season with 15.4 Million catching the last half hour of the episode.
Heroes deserves to be on the list for being the most unabashedly science fiction-esque of the three series, and certainly moreso than anything else on television today. The world of superheroes, of comic book universes, is something that has remained mostly out of network television realm in recent years; you’d have to go back decades to find shows like Superman, Batman, the Green Lantern, etc. in order to find a time when these types of shows were on the airwaves. And, much as superheroes have changed over those years, so has their television shows. Heroes comes to the table with intriguing powers, apocalyptic futures, and a collection of characters which bend the normal rules of human logic to a wonderful degree. In essence, it’s science fiction television for a new generation.
However, the problem is that Heroes hasn’t yet had time to really establish itself, so it is incapable of placing higher on this list. While it certainly has proven a sensation in this its first season, I’ve talked at length in the past as to whether it can continue on this path to success. Also, although I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, I don’t think the show has proven itself capable of balancing normal television drama with its science fiction elements. Any good piece of science fiction needs to be able to both present abnormal themes and events and, when the time calls for it, create human drama that remains relevant and real to the viewer. For me personally, outside of Company Man (Dealing with the backstory of the pictured Mr. Bennet), Heroes had yet to do it. This is why, for now, Heroes must remain on the lower end of the Science Fiction hierarchy. The future, however, could prove more kind to the series.
Lost, which breaks into the top half of EW’s list, is one of the reasons why Heroes was able to be made. For the first time since The X-Files, ABC’s hit drama was a hit with audiences despite its subtle leaning into the realm of science fiction. And, really, it was the subtlety brought to the table by producers J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof in the first season that paved the way for the show’s success, and the greenlighting of numerous Sci-Fi pilots the following year. While it is a show at its core about human drama and the plight of these castaways, this mystical island on which they live is in itself one of those characters. It is always looming, whether it’s in tangible forms (Smoke Monster) or in more metaphorical ones (The recent Magic Box, its power over Locke in the first season, etc.) It is an omnipresent force upon the show, one which remains an integral part of its success.
Cultural Learnings 