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Robert Moore |
Date: 2005-05-31

It is too early to state for certain just how good LOST is compared to the great shows in television history, but by the highest possible standards its first season has to stand out as one of the great seasons in the history of the medium. Season One of LOST was not merely good but great television, and not merely great television but great narrative storytelling. But the impact of LOST goes completely beyond its aesthetic success. Along with another show on ABC (albeit one that I do not care for), DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, LOST has managed to cause the prodigiously stupid television execs to realize that there is a huge demand for quality scripted television. After years of an endless string of simply awful reality shows, all of the networks suddenly want shows that are written ahead of time and feature casts of actual actors. Although final schedules have not yet been announced, it looks as if the 2005-2006 season is going to have both a dramatic decrease in reality shows and an increase in scripted shows. The stunning success of LOST has played a major role in this sea change.

We have in recent years seen genre shows that were huge hits with critics and managed to generate a passionate cult following. Probably no show was more critically praised than BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (with hordes of high brow critics preferring it to more respectable hit series like THE SOPRANOS), but at its peak it managed only a small audience. LOST has generated critical praise almost as strong as BUFFY, a core of fans nearly as passionate, but unlike BUFFY managed absolutely stunning ratings. It is one of the few instances in recent television history where what is arguably the best show on TV also managed among the strongest ratings. In fact, LOST would be considered a cult show based on the number of websites that it has inspired and the passion of the fans, except that the ratings instead make it a mainstream hit.

Who would have thought that a series dealing with plane crash survivors on a most unusual island would have been this successful? Before it debuted I remember people joking that it sounded like GILLIGAN'S ISLAND without the humor. But it ended up matching or surpassing the most optimistic expecations, in quality as well as in ratings. The mention of ratings is not gratuitious. So many superb shows have been cancelled in recent years (FIREFLY, WONDERFALLS, DEAD LIKE ME, ANGEL) that there was even a "Save LOST" website started . . . before the show even debuted! Luckily, the ratings have made cancellation seem not only remote but impossible.

It is almost impossible to acknowledge everything that LOST does well in the space allotted here. Above all else, it is a superbly written show, not merely on an episode by episode basis, but in the way all of the episodes mesh with one another. The continuity is the best that I have seen in a long time. For instance, the first time we see one character in the show, she is rubbing her wrist. Later, we learn that she had been a prisoner of a U. S. Marshall and had obviously gotten rid of her handcuffs just before we first met her. Almost any detail like that will be dealt with at a later date. But the scripts are just as strong on character development, humor, excitement, and adventure. I do have a tiny bit of fear about Season Two: former BUFFY and ANGEL writer David Fury, who wrote many of the finest scripts of the year, including "Walkabout," which could very well win Fury an Emmy for best written episode of the year, has left LOST to work this summer on the new FOX series THE INSIDE, before joining 24 as a writer and executive producer.

My initial fear when the show started was that the central cast was perhaps too large, but it turned out to be unjustified, and the great ensemble cast is unquestionably one of the reasons for the show's success.. Yes, there are a lot of characters, and sometimes I wish some were more central than others, but the depth and power of developing the stories of a dozen characters ended up being both unique and exceptionally entertaining. Jack is the titular lead of the show, although show creator J. J. Abrams has confessed that their original idea was to have Jack assume leadership in the first couple of episodes, and then have him die off, forcing the lovely fugitive Kate become the leader for the castaways. But they quickly realized that Matthew Fox's Jack was too valuable a character to toss aside so cavalierly. If there is a second main character, it is Kate, who is performed by a remarkable newcomer, the excruciatingly beautiful Evangeline Lily, who despite virtually no prior experience (I did recently spot her in a very, very tiny role from the first season episode "Kinetic" on SMALLVILLE, where her only task is to kiss her supposed boyfriend). One of the most consistently fascinating characters is John Locke, played by Terry O'Quinn, a veteran television actor familiar to anyone who has seen shows like ALIAS, THE X-FILES, MILLENIUM, and THE WEST WING. Although he has always performed marvelously, LOST has made him a star. Every one of the major characters has his or her own set of fans. Naveen Andrews, for instance, a Londoner of Indian descent, has been a big hit playing Sayid, the former Iraqi soldier, as has Jorge Garcia as Hurley, the obese lottery winner who is as unlucky for others as he is lucky himself. And while Dominic Monaghan shared in the enormous success of THE LORD OF THE RINGS playing one of the Hobbits, he has achieved more individual success as Charlie, the heroin-addicted bass player for the fictional band Driveshaft (one hit wonders famed for their song "You All Everybody"). So rabid are the show's fans that there are websites dedicated to Driveshaft.

Structurally, the narrative shifts between the efforts of the survivors to adapt to and understand the island on which they are marooned and flashbacks that explain the personal history of each character. Some people object to this, wishing instead that they focused exclusively on the events on the island, but I think that this is wrong. If you focused merely on the events on the island, it would be only an adventure story, but through the flashbacks we learn so much about what makes the people tick that the series becomes as much a character study as an adventure. By the end of the season, we get to know the characters so well that we can anticipate how they are going to respond to even the smallest events. We learn very quickly that the island contains a host of mysteries, including invisible monsters whose location and function remain unknown until the end of the season (if we even understand them then), other inhabitants whose intentions seem both sinister and unknown, and a lone insane Frenchwoman named Danielle Rousseau. But there is not much more than we know about the island. Rousseau talks of the Black Rock, but it isn't what we expect when we finally see it. And then there is the metal doorway that Locke discovers in the middle of the jungle. How can it be opened and what lies behind the door? By the end of the season many of the mysteries are explained, but more are left open-ended.

LOST clearly has the potential to be one of the great series in the history of television. The producers are highly ambitious, but so far their execution has matched their aspirations. I read an interview with David Fury before the first episode aired in which he said they had a plot line that runs over several years, so their clearly is a well-conceived storyline. I have only one concern with the show, and that is the executive producer and creator J. J. Abrams. Although he has two prior hit shows, FELICITY and ALIAS, he has had some problems with taking his shows to higher levels. What made BUFFY so extraordinary was that each year they managed to do something new and amazing, even if some fans were disappointed by some directions it headed. But ALIAS has started to disappoint some fans by the fact that it hasn't progressed much beyond what it was in the first season. Instead of doing strikingly new things, Abrams just tends to recycle the same general storyline. And there has not been much of a payoff for all the focus on Ramaldi (for nonfans of ALIAS, a Renaissance genius whose artifacts provide much of the narrative force of the show). Abrams clearly is brilliant at conceiving and initiating great shows, but he has not yet demonstrated that he is a great finisher in the way that Joss Whedon has. I'm forever the optimist, and I believe that Abrams either will come to terms with this or the other creators and executive producers will help LOST get to a place that we will all find satisfying.

Regardless of the future, this nonetheless is one of the most remarkable rookie seasons any television series has ever enjoyed. I'll end with food for thought. THE X-FILES, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, and FARSCAPE, to name just a few shows, were much better in their second and third seasons than their first. What if two years from now we are able to say the same of LOST?

tcclives23 |
Date: 2005-03-14

From J.J. Abrams, the creator of Alias, and Damon Lindelof (Crossing Jordan) comes an action-packed adventure that will bring out the very best and the very worst in the people who are lost.Out of the blackness, the first thing Jack (Matthew Fox, Party of Five) senses is pain. Then burning sun. A Bamboo forest. Smoke. Screams. With a rush comes the horrible awareness that the plane he was on tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island. From there it's a blur, as his doctor's instinct kicks in: people need his help. Stripped of everything, the 48 survivors scavenge what they can from the plane for their survival. Some panic. Some pin their hopes on rescue. A few find inner strength they never knew they had -- like Kate (Evangeline Lilly), who, with no medical training, suddenly finds herself suturing the doctor's wounds. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) - a man with a warm sense of humor despite the desperate situation - does his best to keep his cool as he helps those around him to survive. Charlie (Dominic Monaghan, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring trilogy) is a faded rock star who harbors a painful secret. Sayid (Naveen Andrews, The English Patient) is a Middle Eastern man who must wrestle with the racial profiling directed at him by some of his fellow survivors. Jin (Daniel Dae Kim, Spider-Man 2, 24) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) are a Korean couple whose traditions, values and language are foreign and thus causes much to get lost in the translation. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) has an air of danger surrounding him, and his intense sense of mistrust for everyone around him could prove to be fatal to his fellow castaways. Michael (Harold Perrineau, Oz) has just gained custody of his nine-year-old son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley, Antwone Fisher, You Got Served), after the death of his ex-wife - they are a father and son who don't even know each other. Locke (Terry O'Quinn, Alias, Primal Fear) is a mysterious man who keeps to himself, and who harbors a deeper connection to the island than any of the others. And self-centered Shannon (Maggie Grace, Oliver Beene) - who actually gives herself a pedicure amid the chaos - and her estranged controlling brother, Boone (Ian Somerhalder, Smallville) - constantly bicker and must learn to get along if they are to survive. The band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must work together against the cruel weather and harsh terrain if they want to stay alive. But the island holds many secrets, including the intense howls of the mysterious creatures stalking the jungle, which fill them all with fear. Fortunately, thanks to the calm leadership of quick-thinking Jack and level-headed Kate, they have hope. But even heroes have secrets, as the survivors will come to learn. This show is awesome it is absolutly perfect!I know it's a little early to be thinking but It would be so cool if they made a movie. If there is going to be as many special features as they are predicting this will be the DVD of the year.

Special Features:
* The original pilot
* Behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the show
* Audio commentaries
* Blooper reel
* Roundtable discussions with cast and crew
* A Matthew Fox photography featurette
* Deleted scenes
* Casting tapes
* New, original "mini-movie" that reveals why the plane crashed.
(REMEMBER THESE ARE JUST RUMORS, NOT FACT)

Also, interested in seeing the cover art? Check it out over at
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3078

Here is the complete episode list:
Season 1
1. 22-Sep-2004 Pilot (1)
2. 29-Sep-2004 Pilot (2)
3. 06-Oct-2004 Tabula Rasa
4. 13-Oct-2004 Walkabout
5. 20-Oct-2004 White Rabbit
6. 27-Oct-2004 House of the Rising Sun
7. 03-Nov-2004 The Moth
8. 10-Nov-2004 Confidence Man
9. 17-Nov-2004 Solitary
10. 01-Dec-2004 Raised by Another
11. 08-Dec-2004 All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
12. 05-Jan-2005 Whatever the Case May Be
13. 12-Jan-2005 Hearts and Minds
14. 19-Jan-2005 Special
15. 09-Feb-2005 Homecoming
16. 16-Feb-2005 Outlaws
17. 23-Feb-2005 ...In Translation
18. 02-Mar-2005 Numbers
19. 30-Mar-2005 Deux Ex Machina
20. 06-Apr-2005 Do No Harm

SPECIAL 27-Apr-2005 Lost: The Journey (Might not appear on DVD)

21. 04-May-2005 The Greater Good (a.k.a. Sides)
22. 11-May-2005 Born to Run
23. 18-May-2005 Exodus(1)
24. 25-May-2005 Exodus(2)
25. 25-May-2005 Exodus(3)

Exodus 1, 2,+3 is the season finale and might be combined on the DVD.

Cubist |
Date: 2005-09-06

Clearly the creators of Lost know their audience very well judging by the number of meaty extras that cater to the obsessive fan. These commentaries and featurettes explain a lot about the mechanics of the show without giving away any of the mysteries.

On the first DVD, there are audio commentaries for both parts of the "Pilot" episode by executive producers J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk. They talk briefly about how they pitched the show and take us through the making of the episode. In an interesting moment, Abrams actually stops the episode to show us how they did an explosion in the crash site sequence. These are very informative tracks with lots of anecdotes about filming.

There is an audio commentary on "Walkabout" by executive producers Jack Bender and David Fury and actor Terry O'Quinn. Bender talks about the challenge of working with trained wild boars that ate too much and didn't feel like moving in a scene that required them to charge the actors. Unfortunately, O'Quinn doesn't talk much only offering brief insights.

The second DVD includes a commentary for "The Moth" by Lindelof, Burk and actor Dominic Monaghan. The Lord of the Rings alum tends to spend most of the time cracking jokes and offering little insight on this so-so track.

The fourth DVD features an audio commentary on "Hearts and Minds" by executive producer Carlton Cuse, supervising producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach and actors Maggie Grace and Ian Sommerhalder. The two producers dominate the track as they talk about their intentions with the actors offering their occasional two cents.

The bulk of the extras can be found on the seventh DVD. "The Genesis of Lost" is a good look at how the show's story came together. The network had a script but it was awful. At the time, Abrams was the network's go-to guy and he had already been toying with an idea of a plane crashing on a deserted island.

"Designing a Disaster" takes a look at how they put together the chaotic crash site in the "Pilot" episode. The creators had no script and very little time but the production crew was able to find the right plane, take it apart, ship it and put it back together (sort of).

"Before They Were Lost" examines how the cast came together in only three weeks. The actors talk about how they got the gig with footage from their audition tapes.

"Welcome to Oahu: The Making of The Pilot" takes us through the first day of filming to completion. Cast and crew recount the sometimes harsh weather conditions they had to shoot in but it did help them bond as a team.

"The Art of Matthew Fox" is a collection of photographs the actor took while shooting the "Pilot." He talks about them as they flash on the screen in this nice extra.

"Lost@Comicon" is a brief clip of some of the cast and crew at that year's San Diego Comicon and their impressions of the event.

"Lost: On Location" is a collection of behind-the-scenes featurettes that give insight into how certain sequences in select episodes were achieved, like the least-threatening wild boars, the humanizing of Sawyer, the revelation of Kate as a fugitive bank robber and a look at the climatic season finale.

"Onset with Jimmy Kimmel" features the late night talk show host visiting the cast on location in Hawaii in this whimsical extra. Kimmel asks Monaghan to compose a (lame) theme song for the show and goofs around with everyone.

"Backstage with Driveshaft" takes a look at Charlie and his fictitious band, which thinks of themselves as the next Oasis but is probably only a one-hit wonder.

There are two flashbacks from the season finale with Claire and Sayid.

Also included are 13 deleted scenes that feature mostly minor exchanges between characters, like a nice bit where Charlie bums a cigarette off of Sawyer, that are interesting but not essential and were probably cut because of time.

"Bloopers from the Set" is an amusing montage of blown lines and funny pratfalls on this very physically demanding show.

Finally, there is a Q&A session "Live from the Museum of Television and Radio." The select cast and crew joke with each other in this entertaining if not frivolous extra. Although, Abrams does reveal that originally Jack was supposed to die in the "Pilot" episode.

E. A Solinas |
Date: 2005-03-14

Hopes were not terribly high for "Lost," the action-drama about a planeful of castaways lost on a tropical island. "Gilligan's Island" all over again? Not quite. This mysterious show rapidly turned itself into a runaway hit. Mystery, drama, the supernatural and horror seep into this series, turning it into one of the most intriguing shows on television.

The series opens with a wrecked plane on a beach, surrounded by panicking people who manage to escape the wreckage. Jack (Matthew Fox) manages to group the refugees into a makeshift camp on the shore -- but soon they hear strange noises and see palm trees being trampled by a gargantuan monster. And when he ventures into the jungle, with the mysterious Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and junkie rocker Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), they find the still-living pilot. The pilot reveals that they are hundreds of miles off course, and no one will be able to find him. Then he gets eaten by an unseen monster.

Now the island is occupied by a motley band, including a strange warrior-sage with a knife-throwing knack, a traumatized con man, a pregnant girl whose baby holds a secret, a secretive Korean couple, a snobby rich girl and her exasperated brother, an Iraqi ex-soldier, and a "dude"-talking chubby guy who has a dark secret of his own. Despite Jack's best efforts, the group splits into two camps, and tensions grow between them.

And there are even worse things coming -- the survivors are not the only ones on the island. A possibly crazy Frenchwoman (Mira Furlan) is hiding somewhere in the jungle, and the murderous "Ethan" kidnaps and nearly kills two of the survivors. The island itself has mysteries -- mysterious monsters, voices in the woods, radio towers, a metal hatch in the jungle ground, and a string of numbers that bring madness and ill fortune...

Yes, it's a weird show. But in the midst of shallow sitcoms and endless reality TV, it's refreshing to see a twisty-turny show like this one. J.J. Adams, best known for "Alias," outdoes his first hit TV show with something totally different. The best way to describe it is as "Swiss Family Robinson," as written by Stephen King.

The gorgeous Hawaiian landscape is a contrast for such a dark storyline. Adams never reveals everything, which keeps up the suspense -- the mysterious monster (a dinosaur?) is only briefly seen by the characters, and nobody knows exactly what it is. Nor are we sure who has been there, or what is up with the island. Adams keeps viewers guessing by slowly peeling away the layers.

What's really interesting is that "Lost" is truly an ensemble show -- Adams gives every character a chance to shine, and flashbacks reveal what makes them tick. Some, like ex-con Kate, are a bit more mysterious than others, but some like the Korean marrieds and the haunted, smart-alecky Sawyer get a lot more dimension and humanity.

Matthew Fox is given a lot of attention, and he is a good actor. But it's the secondary actors that really catch your attention: Dominic Monaghan gives a simply amazing performance as Charlie, especially when Charlie goes through withdrawal, Jorge Garcia is equally good at comedy ("Dude, that was a Jedi moment!") and drama, and Terry O'Quinn is stellar as the enigmatic cubicle-worker-turned-jungle-warrior. Evangeline Lilly gives the debut performance of a lifetime, as tormented criminal Kate.

"Lost" is a well-written, well-acted show that brings a bit of mystery back into prime-time television. Creepy, funny, romantic, tragic and sometimes just weird, it's definitely worth checking out.

joerobguy |
Date: 2005-05-28

Lost is incredible. It is by far the most intellectual show on television, and like the Simpsons, it appeals to low-brow and high-brow tastes. Some viewers may watch it purely for the adventure and supernatural element (it's Jurassic Park and the Shining and Robinson Crusoe---together at last). Others may watch it for the richly nuanced characters (what other show has a regular character who speaks only Korean?). And others still may watch it for the philosophical undercurrent.

What's great about the philosophy is that the writers present it without pretentiousness. Most of it is subtle. The most philosophical character is, of course, John Locke, who happens to share his name with the great seventeenth-century English philosopher (who had some interesting things to say about the behavior of humans in the State of Nature). Also on the show is a mysterious and ambiguous French female character named Rousseau, who also happens to share her name with the great eighteenth-century French philosopher (who also had some interesting things to say about the behavior of humans in the State of Nature).

Lost is very existential. The main themes of the show, expressed a few times by Locke, are the inevitability of fate and the opportunity to change oneself for the better. These 47 (and dwindling) survivors are given the rare chance to focus on their lives, question their past mistakes, and become better people. And these characters have a lot to think about. One character is a drug addict; one was a torurer for Saddam Hussein; one was a hitman; one had an (arguably) incestuous relationship with her step-brother; two are murderers. Only Jack, the doctor, seems to have a sense of morality and decency, but this could easily change with a surprising flashback (for being the main protagonist, we know little about Jack's past).

When I first started watching the show, I thought it was too much like William Golding's Lord of the Flies. The characters are in the same survival situation; the island serves as a convenient microcosm of the Earth (especially since there's practically one of every ethnic group, except American Indian); there are wild boars; the survivors have established separate bands. Even Sawyer, one of the aforementioned murderers, says in an episode, "It's Lord of the Flies time!"

But since I've been watching the show more and more, I care less and less how much it resembles Golding's classic novel. You won't find a better, more engrossing and intellectually stimulating drama on television on any network today.