Locke vs. Adama: who will emerge victorious?
After last night's excellent new episode of Lost, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," an episode that followed my favorite character John Locke in the time between leaving the island and his death, I started thinking. Is this the best season of Lost yet? After 7 straight episodes of all killer, no filler, I have to think yes. We're getting story progression, great character moments, huge twists, and everything we've come to love from the show without any of the things we don't.
Meanwhile, my all time favorite show Battlestar Galactica may be having its best one as well in its' final season, with high drama, mutiny, and tales of predestination around every corner. Characters make dramatic shifts and turn on their former friends, enemies become friends, old friends die, and huge questions are answered. It's been edge of your seat intensity for 6 straight episodes.
So the question is, with the two best dramas on TV having my favorite seasons yet for each of them, which is better so far? Let's break it down in to some very important criteria.
Acting: Both have some of the strongest acting on television, with extremely deep casts full of accomplished actors and very talented unknowns. However, this season you've had breakout performances by Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta and Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh (who has been progressively been getter throughout the series) on Battlestar, while Lost has been typically centered on one character an episode, limiting it's ability for stellar season long performances.
Advantage: Battlestar
Story: Dreams dashed by the bucketful, mutiny around every corner, series long questions answered vs. time traveling castaways, people that find themselves even more lost while in civilization, stunning reveals that ask more questions, and the return of the un-Losties to the island.
Man. A lot is happening.
Advantage: Neither. That's a big fat tie.
Consistency: 6 and 7 episodes into Bstar and Lost's respective seasons, both have been extremely high quality. However, Bstar has something Lost hasn't had: filler. While every episode has been predominantly important things, the last two episodes have had story aspects that kind of felt like they were fluffing up the story to have a full episode of material. It's something Bstar has been accused of in the past, and was definitely true in the last episode.
Meanwhile, Lost is a well oiled machine at this point, cutting all fat from their bones in an effort to fully engage the audience and burn through a ton of material in the last two seasons of the show.
Advantage: Lost
High points: Lost: Desmond's episode "Jughead" vs. Battlestar: the two episode Gaeta/Zarek coup arc of "The Oath" and "Blood on the Scales."
Not even close. "Jughead" was an extremely good episode, but overall it was only slightly better than the rest this season. "The Oath" and "Blood on the Scales" were series defining episodes for Battlestar that were as intense of television as you can get.
Advantage: Battlestar Galactica
In summation: While Lost has been fantastic this season and has been more consistent overall, Battlestar just has higher highs. Plus, there is a fundamental difference between the two: Bstar is mowing through the answers to questions we always wondered and looking like it is going to tie everything up nicely, while Lost is still piling up the questions without answering the mysteries in the past. Because of that...
Advantage: Battlestar Galactica.
Represent.