12. And Arzt Goes the Dynamite
Episode: Exodus, Part 1 (2×23)
Considering he had only been in one episode prior, and was fairly obnoxious at that, I bet 95% of all viewers knew that Leslie was going to be blown to smithereens when he started handling the dynamite. I don’t think that fact made it any less awesome. Plus, it set up Hurley to later say, “Dude, you got some Arntz on you.”
11. Light Em Up!
Episode: The Hunting Party (2×11)
I really enjoyed the character of Tom Friendly, both as the gruff bully with the fake beard and as the laid back yes-man for Ben. At this point in season two, he appeared to be the leader of The Others (who seemed to be savages), and he had already kidnapped Walt and was always the one giving orders. This scene was wrought with tension. I wish they could have done something with it other than turn Kate into Gilligan, but all the same it was a crushing defeat for the castaways and added to the mystery that was their enemy.
Death By Troggles 
And in this case, I would have sworn Arzt was in about four episodes. At any rate, though his death is one of the defining memories I have of the show, it’s also an old writing trick that bugs me – when a show needs to kill someone off, they create someone instead of having the balls to kill off one of the existing 247 characters (this is a problem they ceased to have after a while, of course).
I was a huge fan of Tom Friendly. That whole arc – finding his beard and everything – was the kind of mystery I lived for from the show.
Finding the beard and the costumes is a great moment that didn’t make the countdown. I remember feeling that the characters under reacted to that discovery so it hurt it a bit for me.
I haven’t seen a single episode and I don’t intend to, but I do want to say that I love how so many of your criticisms, as an industry insider, are about how cliche, hackneye and lame a lot of the writing decisions were when the reason I refuse to ever watch is because the creators of the show are pompous, self-congratulating dick-weeds who think they made the greatest thing ever, anywhere. I watched the special recap thing they did before the last episode (or whenever they aired it), which was an hour or so of them two telling the camera what geniuses they are.
Cheaps, I swear I’m not trying to ruin your ability to enjoy things, but you are describing the vast majority of writers.
Only slightly related, but funny: one time a guy on a message board said “I don’t want to see anything that involved a lot of Jews or Democrats.” I told him it must have been liberating to sell his TV.
Hey, no worries, it won’t ruin my enjoyment of things. My inherent cynicism will!
But seriously, I know that’s true, but most seem to have the sense (or maybe just don’t have the opportunity) to not go on tv and tell everyone about it for an hours straight. Its sort of possible I might have enjoyed Lost, but after seeing that, and hearing everyone complain about the unsatisfying ending (not necessarily a deal-breaker because everyone complains about every ending ever.) I have no desire to even try. Besides, Breaking Bad and The Wire are actual works of genius and if the writers of those shows were ever to do a special like the Lost guys, I just wouldn’t watch it and pretend it never happened.
I’ve seen or listened to interviews/commentaries with showrunners for both of those shows. One is run by a guy who’s sort of egomaniacal, while one is run by a guy who’s surprisingly very grounded (or, as you alluded to, maybe just has the sense to reel it in for a commentary).
The ending of LOST wasn’t unsatisfying or even confusing for those who wanted to connect a couple of dots. There were loose threads here and there on the show, but for the most part, people complained about things that “weren’t answered” and the show had, indeed, answered them. If anything, I was only irritated by the ending in that I predicted it, but that’s something I’ve gotten used to doing as I write more and more.
Eh. If I chose my entertainment based on the dickishness of the entertainers, I probably wouldn’t watch many sports, movies, or television.
I certainly wouldn’t listen to much music.
“Light ’em up!” is probably top five for me. It’s the best the show ever got at saying “You thought you knew the score? You know nothing. Your continued survival is going to be at the mercy of your enemies.”