“Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark.”
After surviving a terrible plane crash on a mysterious tropical island 1000 miles off course, the 48 survivors of Oceanic flight 815 encounter many strange and life-threatening occurrences while learning quite a bit about themselves and each other in the process.
What started out as an uninspired idea that was a cross between reality TV series Survivor and William Goldberg’s classic novel Lord Of Flies, LOST became something much more larger and intricate when Alias creator, J.J. Abrams stepped in. With the help of Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindlelof, Abrams gave LOST a supernatural twist with character back-stories told through flashbacks. Influenced by elements of Rod Serling’s The New People and the puzzle adventure video game Myst, LOST began developing into a sci-fi/mystery told in a serial form with real human drama supporting the backbone of the story.
Right off the bat, LOST captures your attention with one of the most incredible opening moments in television history. A terrible plane crash scenario unfolds on a tropical beach as we follow Dr. Jack Sheppard (wonderfully played by Party Of Five’s Matthew Fox) propelling through the carnage risking his own life to help anybody he can. From there we are introduced to a large number of interesting characters, most notably the mysterious John Locke (beautifully portrayed by Millennium & Alias’ Terry O’Quinn).
LOST is first and foremost a character study with each episode focusing on one particular person at a time. It’s a brilliant idea and always a treat at the beginning of an episode to see which character you’re about to understand a little better and welcome into your heart.
Even though the events on the island are incredibly underdeveloped and unfold at a very slow pace, it’s still perfect in every way. Had they taken a faster route it might have risked losing focus on the rich details invested into each character.
The first season is a magnificently executed glimpse into what’s in store over the following five seasons. With it being one of my favorites TV series of all time, I can’t stress enough how much I enjoy every heartbreak, scare, laugh and highly unpredictable plot twist LOST has to offer.
24 episodes. 44 minutes each.
Episodes To See:
Pilot: 1x01 & 1x02: A jaw-dropping introduction to the series. Universally recognized as one the best television pilots ever…and with good reason.
Walkabout: 1x04 & Deus Ex Machina: 1x19: The two Locke-centric episodes of the season are heartbreaking and so very, very interesting.
Exodus: 1x23, 1x24 & 1x25: The 3-part season finale is astounding and is so well-paced you’d never suspect it was 3 episodes long.
Episodes To Avoid:
Raised By Another: 1x10 & Hearts & Mind: 1x13: not incredible by any means but still features important plot points that drives the bigger picture.
Buyer’s Guide:
LOST is widely available on DVD/Blu-ray in single season sets or a complete series collection.
5 Eyelands out of 5
2 comments:
This is exactly why I could never write for The Nut Box.
Series's like this are just too hard.
Plus I tend to view the whole series as a whole, so I would just give it 5 out of 5 right off the bat. I don't have the patience for this season-by-season breakdown.
That, and I'm a lazy piece of shit who should just die.
5 out of 5 for the 1st for me. Fresh, mysterious, exciting. Hell yeah.
Post a Comment