Brad Bonham

Lost, Metroid, and Twin Peaks

I have no idea what this recently concluded TV show (Lost), this classic video game series (Metroid), and that bizarre 80s TV show (Twin Peaks) have in common except that they’re a) mind-bending, b) unique, and c) have at least strong traces of sci-fi elements.  I don’t even typically like sci-fi stuff, but that genre’s influence arguably makes the aforementioned shows/games. Oh, the other thing they have in common is that they all conspire to separate me from my monthly fun money allowance.

In the 90s I paid nearly $100 for the VHS box set of Twin Peaks, only to spend more than that for the DVDs in the 2000s. The first season was released as a Special Edition with lots of extras, but I passed on it because there was no second season to go with it. It eventually went out of print and the price SOARED. I think I paid over $100 for a version still in the plastic wrap at that point, not realizing that I was a victim of what may have been an artificially contrived cult media hype bubble. The second and final season (really the meat of the series) was eventually released on DVD with no extras, but I leaped on it because it was relatively inexpensive. So, doing the math, I probably spent close to $150 for the first season and second season DVDs, and I STILL did not have the original pilot of the series. Without the pilot, the series is almost missing its original context. However, there is now  a definitive Gold Box Edition that includes everything…all the episodes, including the pilot, and tons of extras. And I don’t own it but have considered buying it just to feel whole and pure.

And I’ve spent well over $150 for all the Lost DVDs, and now I’m combing Amazon.com for Metroid Trilogy on the Wii. That particular game trilogy was $50 new just last year, now it costs more than that USED! What happened? Apparently the Collector’s Edition of Metroid Trilogy is just that — a Collector’s Edition. Because now you have to be a collector to own it. 

I am not the kind of person who watches much TV or plays many video games, but I am a connoisseur of premium entertainment experiences. I will fork over my hard-earned money, time, and attention for the best of the best experiences, even if what constitutes “best” is generated by some weird, proprietary taste algorithm contained only in my particular brain. I wonder how much of this is that I really am a connoisseur of premium media and how much is that I’m just a sucker for marketing.

I guess we’ll see when the Collector’s Edition of Lost gets released and I end up buying every season again.