Lost is the thrilling adventure of 48 survivors of a plane crash, all stranded on an island that holds many secrets. Matthew Fox (Party of Five) stars as Jack, the quick-thinking doctor and group leader. Stripped of everything, the survivors scavenge what they can from the plane wreckage for their survival. Some panic and some pin their hopes on rescue, but 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. Kate keeps her background a secret from the others and sometimes appears to have an agenda of her own, but she cares for the survivors as much as anyone. Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) is a faded rock star who harbors a painful secret. Sayid (Naveen Andrews) is a Middle Eastern man and former Iraqi Republican Guard who must wrestle with some racial profiling but soon becomes the island’s technical wizard and man of reason. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) has an air of danger surrounding him, as his intense sense of mistrust for everyone around him could prove to be fatal to his fellow castaways.

Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) are a Korean couple whose traditions, values and language are foreign, causing much to get lost in the translation. Michael (Harold Perrineau) has just gained custody of his ten year-old son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), after the death of his ex-wife – they are a father and son who hardly know each other. Locke (Terry O’Quinn) is a mysterious man who keeps mostly to himself, and who harbors a deeper connection to the island than any of the others. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) - a man with a warm sense of humor despite his desperate situation - does his best to keep his cool as he helps those around him. Claire (Emile de Ravin) is a young adult and pregnant. Self-centered Shannon (Maggie Grace) and her estranged controlling brother Boone (Ian Somerhalder) 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, the mysterious French woman who has lived on the island for longer than anyone could imagine, and several other dangers, as well as some surprising discoveries made by some of the castaways. 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.

CRITIQUE

Lost was one of ABC’s surprise hits last fall on TV, the other one was Desperate Housewives, as it introduced viewers to an epic-like story of castaways trying to survive on a mysterious and dangerous island. The appeal of such a story is finding out who the survivors are, how they cope with their new situation and what the secrets of the island are and what they could possibly mean for the castaways. Creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelhof, as well as the show’s writers, keep up the suspense and drama to make each hour of Lost an entertaining yet mysterious experience.

Another reason why this show is so attractive to an audience are the high production values and beautiful locations in Hawaii (she show is filmed entirely on the island). Also, the prospect of a show set on a scenic beach is a great sight. But more important is the show’s excellent visual style which makes every episode feel like a little movie. The camera is everywhere on the beach and in the jungle, and shot compositions and tracking shots are executed brilliantly. Also, the use and look of special effects is done very well as effects blend in perfectly with the existing footage to create striking images.

Apart from a great production, Lost is also a well-written show with terrific performances by the actors. Each episode deals with the issues at hand with the castaways on the island while also exploring the backgrounds of the main characters through a series of flashbacks. As we learn more about the characters before they got stranded, their hardships on the island play with more drama and resonate better since we find out where each character comes from and what if any secrets they may have. The secrets of the island are a definitive driving force of the first season and will definitely continue as the show heads into its second year, but at the end of the season too few secrets were revealed, and more questions about the island were created. The thing is, as much as I love suspense, I don’t like it when the stories/secrets are dragged out and some issues are not addressed quickly enough.

The only problem with such a large cast of characters is that several won’t be as interesting as the others, and such is the fate of pregnant Claire, and sister/brother Shannon and Boone, while father/son Michael and Walt are interesting just enough. Hurley is the kind of comic relief character so he is fun to watch, while ex-rocker Charlie is interesting and flawed at the same time. Jin and Sun existing among the rest of the survivors develops into a good subplot, while badass Sawyer is the token asshole character but is fun to watch still. Jack and Kate make a very good combination as each one is interesting and over the course of the first season are well-developed (both receive the most flashbacks than the others). And the best characters on the show are Sayid and Locke, but more so Locke whose mysterious nature is quite fascinating. Locke’s episode Walkabout is one of the season’s best episodes, or perhaps the best one, period.

Considering everything about Lost, it is a highly entertaining show that tells an involving and interesting story and features a very good cast of actors, and even though it is not the perfect show - then again hardly any show is really perfect, unless you want me to bring up HBO's The Wire (my shameless plug) - Lost comes highly recommended all things considered.

Disc 1:

Pilot: Part 1

Pilot: Part 2

Tabula Rasa

Walkabout

Disc 2:

White Rabbit

House of the Rising Sun

The Moth

Confidence Man

Disc 3:

Solitary

Raised by Another

All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

Whatever the Case May Be

Disc 4:

Hearts and Minds

Special

Homecoming

Outlaws

Disc 5:

… In Translation

Numbers

Deus Ex Machina

Do No Harm

Disc 6:

The Greater Good

Born To Run

Exodus: Part 1

Exodus: Part 2

THE VIDEO

Disney presents Lost in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format. This is a very fine presentation with vibrant and crisp colors, detailed and pristine picture quality, and consistent black levels and dark tones. Optional English subtitles are available.

THE AUDIO

Disney presents Lost in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, and the sound effects and Michael Giacchino’s score come across loud and clear through all the speakers.

THE EXTRAS

First we get 4 audio commentaries by select cast and crew. These are generally good commentaries with the standouts being tracks for the Pilot and Walkabout. The other two are decent but not as informative and engaging as the other two.

Pilot commentary by executive producers J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Bryan Burk

Walkabout commentary by executive producer/director Jack Bender, co-executive producer David Fury, and actor Terry O'Quinn

The Moth commentary by executive producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk and actor Dominic Monaghan

Hearts and Minds commentary by executive producer/writer Carlton Cuse, supervising producer/writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and actors Maggie Grace and Ian Sommerhalder

The first disc includes two extras – the Lost ScriptScanner where you can read the entire pilot script while watching it (cool feature), and lots of previews for Disney titles, including The Chronicles of Narnia trailer and DVD commercials for Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias S4, Scrubs S2, Home Improvement S3, Golden Girls S3, and a brief Lost Season 2 promo.

The rest of the extras (and there are a lot!) are located on the seventh disc, and there are three main areas of interest.

The first of three sections is Departure which includes the following exciting extras:

The Genesis of Lost (8:40) discusses how the idea came about and what it took from those involved to get the ball rolling, including several meetings and writing the pilot in very little time.

Designing a Disaster (7:59) looks at how the production got a hold of all the airplane parts (or wreckage) at an airplane graveyard in the Mojave Desert and shipped it to the set in Oahu, Hawaii. Cool stuff.

Before They Were Lost (22:55) documents the casting process. We learn that the characters for Hurley, Sayid, Jin and Sun were created after the producers met with the actors and liked them so much they created characters for them. Also, Jack was originally thought to be played by Michael Keaton in a camera and killed off in the pilot and Kate was going to become the leader. Some interesting stuff in here.

Audition Tapes (27:34) is exactly what it says. The cast reads script pages in individual casting sessions which we see parts of here.

Welcome To Oahu: The Making of the Pilot (33:20) is a great documentary on the filming process of the pilot. Lots of things are revealed, mostly how they did this and how they pulled off that. Experience it for yourself – this doc is great stuff.

The Art of Matthew Fox (6:07) is a featurette that shows us many of Fox’s photos he snapped for the photo album he passed out at the end of the shoot to cast and crew members, like Jeff Bridges does for his films, which is where Fox got the idea to do this. As the pictures fly by, dramatic music plays and Fox narrates and offers some thoughts.

Lost@Comicon (1:50) is a brief bit on the Lost panel at ComicCon months before the show’s premiere.

Tales from the Island offers the following extras:

Lost: On Location goes behind the scenes of several episodes detailing specific moments in these informative mini-documentaries: “House of the Rising Sun” (7:19), “Confidence Man” (4:24), “All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues” (4:56), “Whatever The Case May Be” (2:58), “Hearts and Minds” (6:20), “Special” (3:05) and “Exodus” (9:21). “The Trouble with Boars” (5:09) depicts the wrangling of some of the animals on the show.

On Set With Jimmy Kimmel (7:15) is a pretty funny bit as the late-night talk show host takes a trip to the set and spends time with some of the cast. Kimmel and Monaghan work on a Lost theme song, Lilly can read Kimmel’s mind, Josh Holloway makes an unusual demand of Kimmel, and Matthew Fox offers some thoughts on the show. There’s this and more; definitely good for a few laughs.

Backstage With Drive Shaft (6:40) offers behind the scenes and some trivia of the fictional band on the show.

The third and last section is Lost Revealed:

The Lost Flashbacks offers two deleted flashback scenes from the season finale “Exodus.” In the first scene, Claire and the plane’s pilot (Greg Grunberg, Alias) engage in a discussion about psychics (3:07), and in the second Sayid looks to buy a necktie for his lost love Nadia (1:28).

6 Deleted Scenes are presented running an aggregate of about 7 minutes. There a few interesting moments here and I recommend you watch these scenes.

Bloopers From The Set (4:17) gives us actors messing up their lines, bumping into things, falling down and having a good time. As far as blooper reels go, this one is just fine and actually should’ve been longer.

Live From The Museum of Television and Radio (10:56) offers excerpts from the Paley Festival’s Q&A session with J.J. Abrams and nine cast members.

I also discovered one Easter egg, but no others. Perhaps they’re better hidden.

FINAL THOUGHT

Lost is a cool show that comes highly recommended. The DVD of the first season is excellent with great extras.