Lindelof shouldn't get any shit for Prometheus or WWZ.
Especially the latter, since his script contribution was the only good part of that movie!
Yeah, he's extremely defensive about Lost and Prometheus and other projects, making claims like he fulfilled some sort of vision he had for the shows and how everything worked out exactly to plan despite obviously just throwing shit at the screen with no rhyme or reason just because 'man, life sure is mysterious!" He always tries to explain it away in ways that seem like he's being honest and thoughtful, but he's definitely full of shit. He usually comes across like, "I mean, yeah, I crashed that train, but it wasn't because of the other train on the tracks or my terrible ability to conduct a train. It was just the natural outcome of driving this particular train, and in the end, what an experience!"
Well you sound like you have an axe to grind, so again, all I can add is that I've read scores of interviews and listened to hours of podcasts with the guy over the years and have never really seen or heard that Lindelof before. Except for maybe in regards to Prometheus.
I admit I haven't seen the Leftovers which has gotten some praise, but his other stuff has too and I've always ended up hating it. I'm sure if the Leftovers got more criticism, he'd be doing the same thing there. He's pretty much a hack to me and I've yet to see anything that shows he has any kind of self-reflection on these issues. Just hand waves it away and off to the next bloated project.
Other than Lost -- which a lot of people, myself included, readily admit they loved even in spite of some messy writing -- what exactly has gotten this praise? Pretty sure stuff like Prometheus and Cowboys & Aliens are widely reviled.
In any event, while I enjoyed Lost more, The Leftovers is definitely his best written work. So if nothing else, he's on an upward trajectory.
jett said:
How about people that have seen the first season of The Leftovers and thought it was one of the worst shows HBO has ever made next to Vinyl.
Well, Lindelof also did not like the first season. :lol
(hey, now there's an example of Lindelof being self-critical!)
As someone who dropped the show after S1 because it missed more than it hit for me, and only went to the show because of all the positive buzz around the second season, I'd say S2 is definitely worth checking out. And if you don't like THAT, then don't bother with the third.