A Cataclysmic Crash and Compelling Characters Draw Viewers Into LOST
Written: Apr 19 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: absolutely epic, a brilliant start to a most unusual series
Cons: the obsession begins...
The Bottom Line: Watch the pilot. Then watch the next three seasons. Just prepare to get a little too sucked in...
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| bilbopooh's Full Review: Lost - Pilot Episodes |
September 22, 2004 was an important day for my parents, as it marked their 25th wedding anniversary. It was also a significant date for America, since it signaled the beginning of a cultural phenomenon, whispered about on the air waves for weeks: LOST. This first episode had to deliver all the drama and mystery promised by those haunting advertisements. It had to make viewers believe that 40 or so people could survive a plane wreck on an island thousands of miles from the nearest continent and that even with today's modern technology, they would not be quickly found. It had to make us care about this diverse group of individuals even though we were likely to go into over-load with so many major characters to keep track of. It had to be something really special. It was.
It begins with the opening of an eye. A man is lying in the jungle. He pulls himself to his feet and struggles toward the beach, catching a glimpse of a yellow lab along the way. The scene awaiting him at the shore is chaotic, with plane wreckage strewn about and survivors screaming. He springs into action, rousing those in the most immediate danger, healing wounds wherever possible, for he is a doctor and, whether he intended it or not, a leader. His name is Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), and this is his story.
But it's also the story of Charlie Pace (Dom Monaghan), a well-intentioned but mostly incompetent rock star whose primary preoccupation is initially how to get his hands on the heroin he was snorting in the plane's bathroom. It's the story of Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin), an innocent and very pregnant Aussie. It's the story of Hurley Reyes (Jorge Garcia), a squeamish, gentle giant whose easy-going nature allows him to make friends quickly. It's the story of Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), a kind-hearted renegade who doesn't want her fellow survivors to find out what she was doing on that plane, and Sawyer Ford (Josh Holloway), whose antagonism and opportunism cast him in an unfavorable light.
It's the story of Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), once a communications officer for the Iraqi Republican Guard and now their best hope of finding a way off the island, and John Locke (Terry O'Quinn), a mysterious sage who may be their best hope of surviving until that happens. It's the story of Rose (L. Scott Caldwell), a serene woman whose husband was in the tail section of the plane when it crashed.
It's the story of Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim), a Korean couple who keep themselves set apart from the rest, from whom they are already separated by a language barrier, of Boone Carlyle (Ian Somerhalder) and Shannon Rutherford (Maggie Grace), siblings who snipe at one another constantly and seem ill-equipped to prove themselves useful, and of Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) and his estranged young son Walt Lloyd (Malcolm David Kelley). It's even the story of Walt's dog Vincent (Madison), whose disappearance further strains Michael's relationship with his son.
Yes, that's a lot of stories to keep track of, but we meet the characters gradually enough that we're not completely overwhelmed. Because most of these people have never met before, there are plenty of introductions to be made, and we catch glimpses of each character's personality that will be built upon later. There are wonderfully revealing little moments in the midst of the high-octane disaster and the ensuing attempts to settle in safely until they can find a way of contacting civilization, not to mention in the flashbacks to the fateful plane ride itself. We know, as these dazed individuals do not, that they're in it for the long haul and are going to have to work together if they're going to make it. And as if being stranded in the middle of the ocean weren't bad enough, this island boasts several mysteries right here in the pilot: Man-eating monster! Polar bear! Distress call running on a loop for 16 years! Just what kind of place is this, anyway?
LOST presented viewers with an opening chapter so epic and a cast of characters so engaging, it's no wonder legions of fans were born. Now that the third season is wrapping up, the events surrounding the initial crash seem so simple. No Others, no hatch, no evil numbers to worry about... Just a bunch of world-weary folks emerging shakily from a traumatic event, propping each other up and managing to survive until the next set of challenges arises. Truly television at its best.
Season One
Season Two
Charlie figure
Locke figure
Mystery of the Island Jigsaw Puzzle (The Numbers)
LOST Parodies:
Bohemian Rhapsody
I Am a Rock
White Christmas
Christmas Canon Rock
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Christmas in Killarney
Henry the Eighth
Sweet Baby James
The Only Living Boy in New York
Here, There and Everywhere
He Was My Brother
For Baby (For Bobbie)
Sloop John B.
When I'm 64
The Longest Time
Run for the Roses
You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore
Eye of the Tiger
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Leader of the Band
Same Old Lang Syne
Cat's in the Cradle
An Innocent Man
The Boxer
Sparrow
Loves Me Like a Rock
Recommended:
Yes
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bilbopooh
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Member: Erin McCarty
Location: Erie, PA
Reviews written: 2466
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