They didn't do a good job of controlling the "voice" of the overlays. Some was comedy, some was catch up for first time viewers, some was conspiracy. In the future, they could differentiate those "voices" visually, or standardize on one.

Anyone can create they're own overlays for TV shows using sites like Overcast Media (http://beta.overcastmedia.com). They let you add text comments, voiceovers and web links to TV shows and share the comments online (while dodging the copyright issues).

I couldn't agree with Victor more. The "enhanced" version was insulting, condescending and detracting to the point of killing any atmosphere the 2 hour episode had going for it. Perhaps if I were a third grader, I might enjoy the cutesy pop ups like, "Jack seems upset" as he tries to leave a message on a cell phone. "He appears to be calling someone in the 310 area code" as the voice can be heard on the phone saying such. Oh, this was painful, painful, painful to watch. So much so that I had to shut if off and pray ABC will never do harm to the show like this again.

I do wonder how the Writer's Guild, SAG and Director's Guild are viewing this enhanced episode. I can't imagine they are happy.

If you're reading this, maybe I can save you some time. We started watching (East Coast) and read the crawl (not really a lower 1/3rd, more like 1/8th, tastefully done as a graphic).

Frankly, it is insulting. While some is intended to catch up the audience who might not have seen last season, the rest is for the totally brain-dead.

The commentary runs from "tries too hard to be funny" to "you should have learned this in 1st grade" to "you're just an idiot, so we're going to narrate for you"

It's like sitting in front of one of those people in a movie who feel the need to comment on EVERY OBVIOUS POINT. Example: As Sawyer drinks a beer, the crawl says "Sawyer is sipping..." I'm not making this up.

No real new info, just horrid garbage. We wound up watching pt 1 and 2 on DVD-- and we're still 30 mins. ahead! Stay far away from this tripe. Clearly written AFTER the writer's strike. Shame on you JJ & crew, really.

I'm just in a pissy mood and I let it slide into one of my comments, which I regretted right about the time I hit the confirmation link. You want to think of Lost, or any other show as art, that's your prerogative and I should've simply discussed my disagreement in a civil manner.

I am completely at fault and apologize for being the true ass in this exchange and I retract my earlier statements.

Best to you as well.

Wow. I am "one of those" who likes discussing the differences and overlaps between entertainment and art. I am a little stunned that you read offense or annoyance into those two little sentences. Injudicious bolding on my part? That's the Hell of reading tone online.

I don't know that Lost is the show I would go to the mat for as being on the art side of the spectrum, I might opt for Deadwood or The Wire. Whether those are art or not is something I've talked about a lot, and enjoy talking about. And on a show like Lost that incredible craft that the creators show in stuffing so many clues and mysteries and arcs into a season or an episode is something that starts to blur the lines between art and entertainment. I brought up Dickens because in his day he was definitely popular entertainment, but over time he has become literature, something that could happen to a show like Lost. Entertainment + time seems to equal art in some cases.

I'm sorry that my attempt to start a discussion along those lines pissed you off in some way. I assumed that anyone who read not just the stories on a TV blog but the comments as well would be up for a little discussion. Maybe not.

Best to you.

No, dipshit. I suppose you're showing annoyance and offense because you're "one of those" who thinks his favorite shows are somehow "art". It's just a TV show and it might be good, sometimes really good, but it's just something to pass the time. You know as well as anyone that art can be entertaining and entertainment can be art, but you're just being argumentative because you find that entertaining.

But using your mindset I can pose a question of my own.

Does the fact that you're acting like an ass immediately make you NOT a human being? Answer: yes.

You should try getting a life, a clue, a grip...

I think it's a great idea. This is a TV show that loves to stuff in mysteries and clues, so getting some help on that along with some trivia will only make it more entertaining. This is, after all, entertainment. It ain't art, folks.

I'm very cool with this stuff. I'd love to see if I missed anything... I caught the KRZR on the plane and the Hoffs/Drawlar anagram the first time through then spent the rest of the show convincing myself there was no way I was right.

I do hope that they aren't using this to make a 2 hour advertising binge though. Where the Lost "Compass" or whatever they're going to call it is sponsored by... Cerectcompulse: the latest restless eye disfunction drug that has side effects which cause compulsive nail biting and model airplane building.

Keep it focused on the show and allow us to use it as a method to get back into this series... not just another marketing gimmick.

Will be interesting to see how they do this. If they add interesting commentary and insight it may be a good way to get some of the Season 1 viewers they lost during the horrible Season 2 up to speed quickly in time to see the new stuff.

Certain shows, like HBO's Rome, are actually improved by the popups. This could actually work, but then again if they just clutter it with stupid junk it will annoy everyone.

I'm kind of torn on this. I certainly agree with Scott's thoughts, but this "text commentary" concept could be a fun way to rewatch the finale. And if this has some valuable material, then I'd rather have that on screen than a bunch of ads for other shows/products. Ironically, I think ABC has been one of the better behaved networks when it comes to lower-thirds. Haven't seen too many from them at all lately.

NBC was getting really bad during the fall this season, especially the screen-wide overlay ads for that "magic" show (Phenomenon, I think?) and all the animation on the logo to plug other shows. Cute visual branding, but it was just being done too often.

I don't know if this would be a satisfactory solution, but maybe the next time they do this, they can rerun the episode as-is one time (no enhancements) and also run it with the added material soon after (i.e., the next day or something). But at least they're trying something that doesn't involve another frakking "reality" show, and that alone is something to commend in this situation.