J*A*S*M

No other TV show has captivated me as much as Lost. However, I believe that offering something like this to the average Czech audience is a waste of time. A typical Czech family watching TV: mum knitting and nagging the kids, who are munching chips and misbehaving, while daddy is napping in the armchair; or they are all taking and laughing. And then a show that demands attention and hides a lot of important details is considered “utterly stupid”. If I were to watch for instance episode 3x20 without knowing any of the previous events, I would say it’s bullshit. Season 1: 5* – great atmosphere, getting to know the characters and the original flashbacks. Watched on Nova with Czech dubbing. Best episodes: Exodus II, Deus Ex Machina, Solitary. Season 2: 4-5* – excellent beginning and ending, but the middle is just filler. Watched on DVD over a weekend (AXN dubbing). Best episodes: Live Together Die Alone, Man of Science Man of Faith, Lockdown Season 3: 5* – I have no reservations about this season. Interesting twists, two great new characters (Ben and Juliet) and a great ending. Watched in original language. Best episodes: Through the Looking Glass, The Man Behind the Curtain, A Tale of Two Cities. Season 4: 4* – Perhaps the weakest season. It has some excellent episodes, but it wasn’t impressive as a whole. The plot on the island is quite lifeless, the characters are always travelling, without solving anything important. Things are considerably better outside, but Lost should be about the Island. Best episodes: The Constant, There's No Place Like Home II, The Shape of Things to Come. Season 5: 5* – For me the best season of the show. Many people will not be happy with the events that unfold from the first episode, but those who come to terms with it are in for a great reward. We gradually get answers to many questions (though often only in hints), the plot is unpredictable and the finale is awesome. We finally get to know what is really happening on the Island – and the previous seasons suddenly feel like nothing. Best episodes: The Incident, The Variable, Dead is Dead. Season 6: 4* – One big farewell to the show. If you don’t want to be too disappointed, you should accept the fact that the most important questions were answered in the previous season (though not nearly all of them) and that the show doesn’t have much left to offer. We say good-bye to the characters and watch how the whole story ends. Some people will be very satisfied, others less so. I’m not complaining, I will remember this show fondly. Best episodes: The End, The Candidate, Everybody Loves Hugo. A brief take on the show as a whole: Nothing will change the fact that I spent with Lost probably the best years of my life and that’s reason enough for me to love it. It works perfectly if we take it as the story of Jack that begins with the plane crash on the island. The show is often surprising, generates mystery; we know only what the characters themselves know – and that’s good. The problems begin when we look at those events as they happened chronologically, i.e. starting somewhere in antiquity and ending with the plane crash. In that case, many things don’t make sense, and not only minor details, but also the core conflict – what the show should actually be about.

I'm Batman :-D

1st season: Excellent mysterious stuff and an impressive genre mix that every five minutes irradiates a completely different mood, all supported by excellent music and an assortment of amazing characters that gradually reveal hidden secrets. Fantastic finale. 2nd season: The bizarreness of Lynch’s world becomes fully manifested right in the first episode. Overall, the second season is a little weaker, but episodes like 7 and 9, which basically close the original main story arc, are again fantastic. The new plot that follows is also very good and interesting, peaking in the unforgettable episodes 21 and 22. It’s really impossible to avoid superlatives when describing Twin Peaks. PS: Given the shift to bizarreness between the first and second seasons, if they were to make a third season, I think the characters would have to at least travel in space, carry out a global revolution and appoint a plush owl as a ruler.

The Leftovers are not the best series for a traditional viewing, i.e. watching one episode per week. The first two episodes are rather confusing, the creators are not very candid with the viewer and it takes some time until you understand the what, the who and the why. But from the third episode onwards things become tighter and sharper, and the pieces begin to fall into place. So, if you want to give this series a chance, reserve an evening, binge on the first few episodes... and you may end up like me, applauding until five in the morning. The Leftovers is mainly an emotional and intimate drama spiced with a pinch of sci-fi, mysticism and spirituality. It’s about people who’ve lost their ontological certainty after an incomprehensible supernatural event and are unable to come to terms with it, even after three years. Each of them copes with it in their own way, usually rather weirdly. The emotional effect on any viewer capable of empathy is not small, especially when a flashback comes at the right moment and shows how these people lived before the event. Don’t look for any rational answers, look for meaning. By the way, great performances and music. I’m excited after the first season. EDIT: After the second and third seasons: The best series out there today. Those who gave it a low rating after the pilot should be ashamed of yourselves :D

For me, The X-Files are a religion. I loved the show when I was little (I could watch it only occasionally, when I didn’t misbehave) and I still vividly remember stuff that happened around several of the episodes, like what I had that day for dinner, what I was playing with before, etc. Back then, I even named my hamsters Dana and Fox… I simply loved it. And I still do (I’m planning to go through all the seasons), even though I now watch it with a more critical eye than 12 years ago. Season 1: It has very memorable episodes and several duds. The mythology at the beginning is only hinted at, it is much better in the following seasons. Best episodes: Squeeze, Ice, Darkness Falls. Season 2: The episodes have a very high level, with only few that are weak. The mythology is already well developed. Best episodes: Die Hand Die Verletzt, Død Kalm, Humbug. Season 3: The number of good and bad episodes is balanced, and there are more with humour (which I don’t like much). The mythology is very good. Best episodes: Grotesque, Pusher, Oubliette. Season 4: Very good quality episodes and a good atmosphere in most of them. Mulder’s wisecracks aren’t a hindrance, they are like a spice in parts that are not precisely funny. The mythology remains very good. Best episodes: Home, Small Potatoes, Leonard Betts. I’m working on the remaining seasons :) Edit: After several years I’ve finally watched it all. I won’t comment individually on the seasons, all of them have great episodes, but it’s not like at the beginning. The mythology, in particular, becomes too contrived, confusing and boring, with one conspiracy over another, and God knows whether any of that makes sense. Otherwise, the weakest season is the seventh, I watched it at a pace of one episode a month and I really felt like giving up on it. The addition of new characters in the eight season gives the show a breath of fresh air, and that season is also great. Unfortunately, however, in the ninth and final season, the quality drops again.