The Tail Section

Carlton needs a hug.  In an article at timesunion about the essay portion of the Emmy Award nominations, the Cusemeister seems a little Despondent over the power the of words.  Here is what he had to say about the essay phase:

"I don’t know how you can even begin to explain ‘Lost’ in 250 words or less," Cuse wrote me in an e-mail. "We’re going to have to rely on the fact that members of the TV academy are TV watchers and hopefully will have seen other episodes of the show."

I know nothing about the Emmys from a business perspective, but I’m a big fan of the power of words so I was a bit stunned by Carlton’s dismissal of the essay portion.  You definitely could not explain LOST in 250 words or less, but I bet there are many folks right here amongst us who could craft a compelling statement on the importance of LOST’s themes of redemption, sacrifice, heroism, and adventure not just within its story but also in its production; LOST dares to allow itself to seem incoherent, plucking its story from a nebulous void of infinite creative potential tempered by the often challenging humanity of its characters.  The very reasons that the show is difficult to explain are in themselves heavy arguments for why LOST deserves the Best Drama Emmy.  What seems like a murky broth of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, romance, adventure, and drama is in-fact  surrounded by a incongruous halo of clarity; a story that is coming together in disembodied segments.

On to the contest!

As you’ve probably guessed, the theme of the contest is to create an essay in 250 words or less that explains why LOST should win the best drama Emmy.  Take any approach you want.  One challenge is that, it would seem, the actual Emmy essay seems to be asking for 250 words that describe what the show is about.  If you want to try to capture the essence of LOST in 250 words, god bless ya, go for it.

We’ll collect entries for the next two weeks.  On the 1st of July we will have a semi-final phase and determine the top five essays.  Those will be published here on the front page with a link to a poll in the forums.  To prevent gaming the poll, the voting will take place in the forums where you will need to have a registered account to place a vote.

I’ll have to put my feelers out for a prize.  Last time we ran the "how you would end LOST" contest, I gave away an autographed LOST screenplay.  I can’t promise anything that cool, but I’m going to make an attempt to get some good stuff together. 

So to enter, go to http://forums.buddytv.com/lost-general-discussion/20772-lost-essay-contest.html
and post your essay!   Don’t post here in the comments, only at the forums, or your entry will not qualify.