LOST - Season 6 [2010]

“What if this... all this... what if this wasn't supposed to be our life?

What if we had some other life and for some reason, we changed things?”

The sixth and final season of LOST was one of the most anticipated events in television history, making for some of the most polarizing opinions television had seen since The Sopranos closed up shop.  Showrunners Cartlon Cuse & Damon Lindelof faced the excrutiating task of tying up all lose ends and sending off the characters, that we grew to love, on their merry way, while trying to unravel the insanely complicated storyline into something that should make sense when all is said and done. 

Reinventing the storytelling linear once again, LOST introduces us to an alternate timeline what has come to be known as the “flash sideways”.  This makes up for the lack of character development in the fifth season, as it gives us a chance to re-evaluate the characters in a different light, while remaining hauntingly familiar.  That's about all I can really tell you about the story aspects of season six without spoiling anything at all. 

As a whole, the season is packed with superb action pieces & plot twists galore to compliment some of most powerful and emotional character arcs the series has seen so far.  However it has it still has it's fair share of set-ups that last just a little too long and leaves you questioning their purpose.  

All in all, LOST delivers the goods in it's final season.  Every element that made LOST what it was are all present, with the stakes being risen to the top as it gets closer and closer to the end.  About 50% of the fans of the show will strongly disagree with me, but I feel the series finale couldn't have been any better.  It's perfect in every way and wraps things up both story wise and emotionally with great satisfaction.

LOST was a cult show and will no doubt fall into the cult classic category as time moves on.  It was never the most popular show after the first season as ratings dropped significantly and was no longer the water cooler series it was so dangerously close to becoming.  It sits neatly beside Twin Peaks and The Prisoner as bizarre character based sci-fi/dramas that may or may not be genius, depending on the viewer and their patience for such complicated and character-based storytelling.

It was too science fiction for drama fans.  And too dramatic for sci-fi fans…

…but somehow it managed to find a comfortable spot in millions of people over the world. 

Must See Episodes:

6x01 & 6x02: LA X: a haunting and puzzling beginning to the season.  It stirs emotions in a most confusing manner.  Brilliant.   Plus smoke monster kicks some insane ass here.

6x12: Ab Aeterno: Richard-centric.  Probably my 2nd favorite episode of the series after S4's The Constant. This story goes back......waaaayyyyy back.

6x20 & 6x21: The End:  I couldn't have asked for anything more.  I manage to hold the tears back right up until Vincent shows up and then I just bawling like a little baby.

Episodes To Avoid:

6x18: Across The Sea: Jacob & The Man In Black-centric:  What the hell was this festering piece of Vincent crap?  So close to the end of the series and they almost completely shit the bed with this shit.

Buyer's Guide: 

LOST is widely available on DVD/Blu-ray in single season sets or a complete series collection.  If you get the complete series collection you get a board game with it....get the board game.  

4 "Live Together, Die Alone" 's out of 5

LOST - Season 5 [2008]

“Time is like a street.
Alright, we can move forward on that street, we can move in reverse,

but we can not ever create a new street.
If we try to do anything different, we will fail every time.
Whatever happened, happened.”

After the perfect in every way fourth season that tore everything apart in the it’s mind-blowing finale, LOST show runners Damon Lindlelof & Carlton Cuse had the challenging task of putting everything back together again.

Season Five follows the Oceanic Six, three years after returning to civilization as things are beginning to go so very, very wrong for them as they are haunted by the memories of the island and it’s ghosts.  It’s up to Jack to start rounding them up to return to the island, only none of them want to go back.  Meanwhile, the other storyline follows the characters, still stranded on the island, living a sporadic time-travelling nightmare.  

Cuse & Lindelof handle the time-travelling aspects of the story with grace by embelishing on the ever-expanding mythology behind the history of the island. With an all ready complicated story to follow, it could have easily fallen apart and pummeled into the ground with plotholes galore.  Instead, they manage to keep the story moving forward at a brisk pace and use the time traveling to answer many of the questions raised in the past four years without hitting too many bumps in the road.

Season Five’s biggest weakness is it seems to run around in circles a little too often.  With the time-travel and story being told from so many different character's points of view we find ourselves often returning to moments that we’ve seen too often all ready.  For the most part, not much character development is ever really explored but we are treated to some fantastic table-turning moments between John Locke and Ben Linus.

An overall entertaining season but could have been condensed a little bit in the action and focus more on characters.  No matter….the sixth and final season is where it all matters.

17 episodes.  44 minutes each.

Must See Episodes:

5x03: Jughead:  Desmond-centric episode.  Great to see the dynamics between Desmond and Faraday.  2 fantastic characters that never really shared any screen time until this episode.

5x07: The Life & Death Of Jeremy Bentham: Locke-centric.  I could watch Locke drinking a glass water and be enthralled.

5x14: The Variable: Faraday-centric.  Daniel Faraday is one of the best characters to come out of the series.  Plain and simple.

Episodes To Avoid:

5x02: The Lie: Hurley-centric.  A little too goofy for the beginning of the season.

5x06: 316: Jack-centric.  Very slow paced and not enough mystery just leaves you kinda bored.

Buyer's Guide:

LOST is widely available on DVD/Blu-ray in single season sets or a complete series collection.

3½ “2 Lockes 1 Corpse” out of 5

LOST - Season Four [2007]

"You can't change the future."

After the game changing season three finale, LOST had a lot to live up to with the promise of a brand new storytelling format.

Instead of telling an alternate story through flashbacks, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse decided to shake things up a bit and introduce the concept of flashforwards to the all ready complicated non-linear plotlines.

While the present day storyline remains on the island, the flashforwards follow six survivors who got off the island and are known to the world as the Oceanic Six.  These six are trying to reintegrate themselves into their normal lives...but this is LOST and no action, good or bad, goes unpunished.

Season Four continues adding fascinating new characters to the story line without ever feeling like they're there just to fall back on lazy writing.  Character actor Jeremy Davies as twitchy physicist Daniel Faraday and Michael Emerson's SAW co-star Ken Leung as the cranky and sarcastic ghost whisperer Miles Straume are both entertaining and fantastic characters.  While Rebecca Mader as bitchy anthropologist Charlotte Lewis is most unwelcome with her irritating attitude and tendency to butt heads.  80's b-actor Jeff Fahey can't get enough screen time as the dry humored pilot Frank Lapidus who seems like he just wants to have a drink. Kevin Durand is an intimidating element of the show as dangerous mercenary Martin Keamy, a character whom you just love to hate.

Unfortunately due to the Writer's Guild Of America Strike in 200-2008, LOST's fourth season run was cut short.  Lindelof and Cuse had no choice but to make the best of it and they succeeded in every way. With TV's Buffy/Angel writer Drew Goddard and Y: The Last Man/Runaways comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan on board, Season Four kicked ass from start to finish.  It resulted in one of the best hours of television ever with the Desmond-centric episode The Constant, which dares you not to shed a tear by the end of it.  A hand-to-hand combat sequence with Sayid Jarrah is quite possibly one of my favorite TV fight scenes ever.

By the time the perfectly fast-paced Season Four comes to an end it's made very apparent that LOST knows exactly where it's headed and every minute counts now.  

14 episodes. 44 minutes each.

Episodes To See:

4x01:  The Beginning Of The End:  Hurley-centric episode that is just wow.  Action-packed, emotional and more twists and turns you won't be expecting.

4x02: Confirmed Dead: Freighter-centric episode.  A brisk, yet fulfilling introduction to each of the new characters on the series.

4x05: The Constant: Desmond-centric.  Not enough space to go into why this episode is THE BEST. Michael Giacchino's music is noteworthy.

4x12, 4x13 & 4x14: There's No Place Like Home: Oceanic Six-centric.  These 3 episodes fly by so fast you're left screaming at the end for more.

Episodes To Avoid:

None.  This is LOST's best season without a doubt.  There's no time to dwell on Vincent's poop.

Buyer's Guide:
LOST is widely available on DVD/Blu-ray in single season sets or a complete series collection.

5 Time Traveling Bunnies out of 5

LOST – Season Three [2006]

"I did not ask for the life that I was given.

But it was given, nonetheless.

And with it...

...I did my best."

Apart from the stellar season premiere, the third season of LOST suffered from a slow-paced mess that piled on the aimless questions one after another for about 7 episodes.  

Thankfully, the series went on a 12-week hiatus, giving the writers time to dig themselves out of the hole they were in and start taking aim at a final destination.  During this time, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse announced that they had a plan and mapped out the series to finish on season six.

After the break, the remaining 16 episodes were top-notch front to back (if you don’t count the crapfest episode guest-starring the icky Bai Ling).  The smoke monster is finally shown just how dangerous it actually can be.  Scenes between enigmatic Others’ leader Benjamin Linus and John Locke are some of the season’s finest highlights, with Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn turning in performances worthy of great applaud.  Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) is revealed to be much more important to the events on the island than we previously thought.  Our hearts are broken by the first casualty of a character we’ve actually grown to love, instead of some of the other ho-hum demises of not so great characters in the series’ past.  Elizabeth Mitchell joins the cast as Juliet Burke who is most welcome addition to the formula, while  newcomers Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro as Nikki & Paulo aren’t so welcome. 

What should be mentioned, as I wanted to before on my previous reviews but just ran out of room, is Michael Giacchino’s brilliant orchestrated score for the series really stands out in it's third year.  LOST simply would not be the same without his music as it has a voice of it’s own that’s so distinct you couldn’t mistake it for anything else.

It seems every year, LOST is upping the ante with it’s season finales and completely blowing our minds.  This year has one of the most haunting final scenes the series will ever see.  Wow.  Just wow.

All in all, the series begins feeling like it’s slowly being built brick by brick to reveal a big finish, instead of leading the viewer on towards nothing but more questions never to be answered.

23 episodes.  44 minutes each.

Episodes To See:

3X01: A Tale Of Two Cities:  Jack-centric episode.  Great start to the season.

3X08: Flashes Before Your Eyes:  Desmond-centric.  C’mon.  It’s Desmond.

3X21: Greatest Hits:  Charlie-centric. 

3x22 & 3x23: Through The Looking Glass:  Jack-centric.  The season finales keep getting better and better.

Episodes To Avoid:

3x09:  Stranger In A Strange Land:  Jack-centric.  A completely pointless episode with no redeeming qualities whatsover.   Plus…Bai Ling is terrible.

Buyer's Guide:
LOST is widely available on DVD/Blu-ray in single season sets or a complete series collection.

4 fish biscuits out of 5 

LOST - Season Two [2005]

"See you in another life, brotha."

After the perfect in every way first season of LOST, showrunners Damon Lindlelof and Carlton Cuse faced the difficult task of recreating and further developing the same sense of mystery, intrigue and compelling character-based stories we had become accustomed to.

With a promising opener that starts off right where the season one cliff-hanger left off, we are treated to some answers that lead to more questions and followed with a run of about 7 excellent episodes in a row. 

After that, things just sort of fall apart and the plot wanders around aimlessly for the most part.  There’s a handful of good episodes scattered in what is a lot of fillers but it’s mostly forgettable and really adds nothing worthwhile to the characters or the story. 

Harsh criticism aside, it never really feels like a huge waste of time to a dedicated fan of the series.  You still feel a little closer to the characters that you’ve all ready started to love and there’s always brief moments in each episode that makes it all worth the spent time.

To add to the all ready impressive cast, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Watros and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are given some interesting roles in the story that make perfect sense but come right out of left-field at the same time.  However the most note-worthy additions would be Michael Emerson and Henry Ian Cusick as two of the most compelling characters LOST has to offer in it's entire run.

Things really pick up in the final 9 episodes as all the characters begin playing a key role in the events that have slowly unfolded over the course of the year.   Many questions are answered that lead to one of the larger mysterious aspects of the series and really give the viewer a sense of ‘what the hell is this show?’

Season Two might be flawed in several areas but with a little patience it still manages to entertain and keep you guessing.  With this being the weakest season of the series, you know you’ve got an excellent show ahead of you.

24 episodes.  44 minutes each.

Episodes To See:  

2x03: Orientation

Locke-centrics are always emotionally draining but so beautifully written and acted.

2x07: The Other 48 Days

An interesting twist on the storytelling that keeps things refreshing.

2x23/2x24: Live Together, Die Alone

What the hell is going on and why am I so intrigued?

Episodes to Avoid:

2x11:  The Hunting Party

Jack-centric.  Zzzzz.  A lot happens...it's just handled poorly.

2x12:  Fire + Water

Charlie-centric. Zzzzz.  Nothing happens...it's handled poorly and stupidly.

Buyer's Guide:

LOST is widely available on DVD/Blu-ray in single season sets or a complete series collection.

3½ Tail Sections out of 5

LOST - Season One [2004]

“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