Geek Smackdown: George R.R. Martin disses on Lost

[Sean]

Zoinks! Looks like George R.R. Martin and Damon Lindelof are trying to reenact the movie You Got Served.

Gather round, yon fantasy nerds, for the beef of your lifetime, or at least this month: "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin just dissed 'Lost,' and like any self-respecting geek, 'Lost' show runner Damon Lindelof is fighting back... on Twitter.

In the most recent issue of the New Yorker, Martin said he felt cheated by the conclusion of "Lost" and didn't want his "Song of Ice and Fire" series to cause the same sense of disappointment in his fans."I want to give them something terrific," he said. "What if I [mess] it up at the end? What if I do a 'Lost'? Then they'll come after me with pitchforks and torches."

Lindelof took to the tweets to stand up for himself using some language that can't be printed here. Some choice nuggests from his tirade: "George? You got yourself a feud ..." "I've just been informed George is working on his feud response. I'll have it in FIVE YEARS!" "Two final thoughts, George. A. They weren't dead the whole time. B. 1997 called. It wants its web design back."

But in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lindelof admitted that, as a huge Martin fan, his feelings were kinda hurt. "When he uses phrases like '[messing] up the ending' or 'I felt like someone dropped a turd on my doorstep,' you know: Look, 'Lost' is my baby, and you don't put baby in a corner. I feel duty-bound, just for my own sense of integrity, to respond publicly."

I gotta go with Lindelof here. If you're going to pick on a show for having a bad ending, go with BSG's "Let's abandon all technology and go live in caves where we'll die of dysentery in eighteen months!"

[Colin]

Pssst...there is a GRRM section. 4th group down.

[Nevan]

As disappointed as I was with Lost, I'm afraid that I'll have to side with Lindelof. Lost was his brainchild, and it's not our place to dictate how it should have ended — as much as I'd love to.

Of all the people to make a normative statement on the creative process, I'd never have thought that G.R.R. Martin would be on the list. Surely he must be tired of people telling him to write faster/stop working part-time at the lighthouse which his outward appearance would appear to suggest he frequents.

[Larry]

Nevan wrote: "As disappointed as I was with Lost, I'm afraid that I'll have to side with Lindelof. Lost was his brainchild, and it's not our place to dictate how it should have ended — as much as I'd love to.

O..."

Well he has as much right as anyone else to say he did not like the ending so much. It's not the same thing as someone saying "write faster." When did we not be able to express opinion on the content of something?

[Michael]

Larry wrote: "Well he has as much right as anyone else to say he did not like the ending so much. It's not the same thing as someone saying "write faster." When did we not be able to express opinion on the content of something? "

I think there is a huge difference between saying "I didn't like the way Lost ended" and saying "the way Lost ended was totally wrong and the writers completely suck because of it".

I DID like the end of Lost but I didn't like book 4 of Game of Thrones. I disliked the fact that it contained only half of the characters, that those characters are ones I don't like (or worse, new ones I don't like) and that we got tantalizing snippets of what is happening elsewhere. And especially I don't like that a book that was basically already written has taken so long to become available. But that doesn't mean that Martin "screwed it up" or "dropped a turd on my doorstep". It's his story, he can write it as he likes

[Philip]

I think it's pretty messed up on GRRM's part. As the subject of much criticism himself, he ought to be more sensitive about sniping other people's work. And to make it worse, Lindelof is a fan of his. I wonder how he'd feel if someone he admired put down his crowning achievement?

And not everyone disliked the ending of Lost. I and many others loved it, and to say the finale was "messed up" indicates to me he never really got the show in the first place. The ending was about the characters, just like the whole series. All the mythology, questions, answers, etc. were there to mainly explore the characters and their development.

[Veronica, Supreme Sword]

Colin wrote: "Pssst...there is a GRRM section. 4th group down."

Moved!

[Brian]

I liked the twitter responses by Lindelof. They hit home. GRRM is hardly in a position to criticize other in regards to leaving threads undone. He leaves twenty undone each book and expects people to recall them years later.

I hope the people who watch GoT on HBO enjoy it but I will not be joining you. I have been on a GRRM boycott for the last couple of years.

[Brian]

Michael wrote: "Larry wrote: "Well he has as much right as anyone else to say he did not like the ending so much. It's not the same thing as someone saying "write faster." When did we not be able to express opinio..."

I see being an author as being in a business. Doing things to antagonize your readers isn't the best idea. Inherently I believe that when an author starts out a series like GRRM has you have a responsibility to carry that out in a timely fashion. Making people wait for anything "just because" isn't the way to do business or treat people.

[Tina]

Sean wrote: "I gotta go with Lindelof here. If you're going to pick on a show for having a bad ending, go with BSG's "Let's abandon all technology and go live in caves where we'll die of dysentery in eighteen months!"

I have to agree -- BSG's finale was a missed opportunity.