LOSTBLOG: Why some fans are upset with Obama
UPDATE (1/8/10): "Lost" fans can breathe easy; the speech won't be on Feb. 2. I can't believe White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs actually addressed this "issue" today: http://tinyurl.com/yzptg67
Anyone familiar with me and/or this blog knows I'm a huge "Lost" nerd, but even I have to shake my head at this one.
The big media outlets are now picking up what I thought was a non-story that surfaced online yesterday: President Obama may deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 2, the same night as the "Lost" premiere.
Fans fearful that ABC will bump the three-hour premiere event to the following week have taken their consternation to the Web. I follow more than a few "Lost" bloggers and fans on Twitter, and many of them introduced a new hashtag phrase yesterday: #NoStateofUnionFeb2. The AP story I linked to claims to have found a Facebook group named "Americans Against the State of the Union of the Same Night as LOST," but my search of FB yields no results. I did, however, find this online petition addressed to the White House and the U.S. Congress. As of 3:54 p.m., it had amassed 102 virtual signatures.
Sean Easley at examiner.com claims that "a source in the know" tells him Obama will indeed give the speech on Feb. 2, seeing "Lost" as "the path of least resistance" -- "American Idol," which premieres the previous week, gets better ratings, you see. Now, I don't know what kind of sources Mr. Easley might have, so take this information with the proverbial grain of salt.
ABC told Entertainment Weekly it is still planning to air "Lost" on Feb. 2, but I can't imagine they wouldn't televise the speech; their credibility as a news outlet would certainly take a hit. One hopes that the administration wouldn't dignify this with a response, although one never knows after that Kal Penn business. (In short: The White House didn't announce Penn's hiring as a cultural liaison until the day after his character committed suicide on "House, M.D.")
I'm gonna level with you: I'm more excited about the "Lost" premiere than everything else in my life right now. I've been re-watching my Season 5 DVDs daily since Christmas Eve, I scour the spoilers at DARKUFO, I've been forming and debunking theories on how the show will end, and I'm even planning on making some homemade DHARMA Initiative hoodies.
But even I can see the bigger picture, and have absolutely no problem with ABC pre-empting "Lost" for the president's speech. If you are a hardcore like me, and you are genuinely upset that you might have to wait until Feb. 9 to see the Season 6 premiere, I want you to think about this: There was almost a terrorist attack on Christmas Day. The security of the country is in question. The nation is bitterly divided over the future of health care. The Left's would-be American Messiah of November 2008 is now the Right's Soviet Premier. Isn't it more important to hear what our president -- the leader of the free world -- has to say than to find out if Jughead prevented Oceanic 815 from crashing?
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http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=266913161353&ref=mf
It's a FICTIONAL television show. If it's so important to see the episode ASAP, why don't you petition ABC to show the premiere the Thursday BEFORE?
LW
NOW we're on to something! There's gotta be some lame movie on the previous Saturday's schedule, right?!?
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The president is always on the air or one of his spin doctors is. I think this outcry is saying just give us that one spark of hope that keeps us above the water and something to hold onto that is ours and is pure and unspoiled where are imaginations can soar to a place that holds out hope that someone can bring humankind together.
Hey most Losties are mild mannered hard working and well educated persons not only from US but across the globe. Pushing back the date here also messes with their schedules as well since there is a large online global following. This show proves that you can bring people around the world with totally different beliefs and views together in one place to discuss, argue and disagree peacefully. Many hours of research and commraderie exists among the followers of Lost and many hours of preparation and party planning have gone into this event.
This is where we go to get away from home mortgages, job layoffs or cutbacks and the cold outside. For a few minutes a day we can get together with friends to bond over something that is non political and totally non biased. Now politics wants to invade that.
I'm not saying my fellow Losties aren't hard-working and well-educated -- hey, you have to have a good head on your shoulders to keep up with this show -- but I do think that rabid fandom can make us all lose perspective. The State of the Union is an important address, no matter what you think of the current president, and I am eager to hear just what he's going to say in the wake of the health-care debacle and the serious lapse in security that almost led to tragedy on Christmas Day.
I do completely agree that one of the great things about "Lost" is its ability to unite people across the globe. Message boards made TV-watching a worldwide shared experience, and Twitter and Facebook are only expanding upon that. There is a kinship among Losties that is very encouraging -- this show inspires a lot of friendly, intriguing debate.
I will admit my opinion may be skewed by certain other facts: I work at night, and miss the show's "live" airing anyway, and Feb. 2 is Election Day in Illinois, which means the show may have been pre-empted anyway by local primary coverage.
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It's no wonder newspapers are going down the drain.
Enough said.
Um, if a TV show is more important to you than what the president of our country has to say, then THAT is the problem. I do have to say that i am very disappointed that our society has gotten to a sad state where people write articles and get in a tissie because they cannot watch a tv show, C'mon, Really, are you serious? I am ashamed for all of you, these shows can all be watched online if you think it's that big of a deal. I need to get back to reality now. And no, i don't mean reality TV..