For some shows, the first season is the best it will ever be. Heroes jumps to mind when I think of these types of shows. Heroes had a great first season that introduced an interesting group of characters with interesting super powers that they were then forced to deal with. There were mysteries, and there was a season long plot involving Hiro's vision of the future exploding, and there was a scary villain named Sylar. It was awesome, and no future season lived up to the hype of that first season.
Then there are Joss Whedon shows like Buffy and Angel, where the first season starts off bumpy. I'm fond of both shows' first seasons, but they were easily the weakest seasons of the show. Yet in a way, I consider these first seasons to be more successful, because they launched their series into bigger and better things, while Heroes faltered in future seasons.
So what makes a good first season? I've just finished up the first season of Lost, and I quite frankly, loved it. But is it a one hit wonder, or has the first season built the base for something that can truly last? What do we need in a first season to launch a series into future success?
The first and most obvious answer is characters. Plots eventually have to come to a conclusion, settings grow boring and tiresome to look at, but characters can actually get BETTER over time. A good first season needs to introduce interesting characters that the audience can fall in love with. Heroes actually did a good job with this in the case of Noah Bennet, as he was a character that the audience could support because of his love for his daughter. He was cool and dangerous, but we could also sympathize with him. That made him well rounded and interesting to watch. For Lost, we have good characters like Jin and Sawyer, who are both interesting and complex characters with both lovable quirks and character traits, as well as deep flaws.
The first season of any TV series should focus on introducing us to these interesting characters, and making us care what happens to them, because character development is the most critical aspect to a show's sustainability.
The second thing a series needs to do, which is also connected to character is to start and build relationships between the characters. These don't always have to be romantic, sometimes a strongly felt friendship can be just as meaningful as two people who are in love with each other. A good example of this is Scrubs. The first season introduced us to JD, and these powerful relationships he formed with the rest of the characters at the hospital. There was his best friend Turk, who provided constant support, his flirtatious rivalry with Elliot that would set up future seasons of romance, and of course the strong mentor mentee relationship with Dr. Cox. A good first season should set up these relationships, hinting at where they might go, but should not push too hard at them. Lost set up a love triangle very quickly in the first season between Jack, Kate, and Sawyer, but it didn't push any two of them into a relationship, which will hopefully allow it to sustain their drama for a while longer.
Every season of television hopefully deals with a central conflict. In Buffy these were labeled as Big Bads, and each season had a new one for Buffy to face. Dexter has a similar formula, in that each season deals with a different main serial killer. Each season sees an end to the Big Bad, while also somehow forcing the main character or characters to confront some sort of internal issue they are dealing with. It's not the hardest formula to figure out, but it works, especially for these shows because each season feels like an individual story; however the characters are interesting enough that we want to see them face whole new conflicts the next season. Heroes made the mistake of trying to recycle conflicts, and never allowing Sylar to die.
So what was the principle conflict of the first season of Lost? I would say that it was trying to survive and find a way to escape the Island. The mysteries were mostly side plots, while the main part of the plot was Jack trying to keep everyone alive while Michael and Jin built the Raft. The conflict is far from wrapped up at the end of the season, however there is a clear transition.
The Others. I expect season two of Lost to deal with this new conflict in the form of these mysterious Others. They were part of a side plot in the first season, but I expect them to take center stage in Season 2. And I'm excited about that.
So will the second season of Lost be as good or even better than the first? It has successfully built up several interesting characters, all of whom have a variety of relationships that can grow and develop in the future, and the series has introduced a new conflict to be dealt with in the next season. All the signs are there for a good second season, I would say.
But I'll have to watch and find out for myself...
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