Product Description
-------------------
Get lost in the hottest series of 2004. From J.J. Abrams, the
creator of ALIAS, comes the action-packed adventure that became a
worldwide television event. Stranded on an island that holds many
secrets, 48 people must band together if they hope to get home
alive. Now you can experience the nonstop excitement and mystery
of every episode, from the show's stunning first minute to its
spectacular finale, on a seven-disc set. Presented in a
widescreen theatrical format with 5.1 Surround Sound and bursting
with more than eight hours of original bonus features --
including unaired LOST flashbacks from the final episode -- LOST
is a real find.
.com
----
Along with Desperate Housewives, Lost was one of the two
breakout shows in the fall of 2004. Mixing suspense and action
with a sci-fi twist, it began with a thrilling pilot episode in
which a jetliner traveling from Australia to Los Angeles ces,
leaving 48 survivors on an unidentified island with no sign of
civilization or hope of imminent rescue. That may sound like
Gilligan's Island meets Survivor, but Lost kept viewers tuning in
every Wednesday night--and spending the rest of the week
speculating on Web sites--with some irresistible hooks (not to
mention the beautiful women). First, there's a huge ensemble cast
of no fewer than 14 regular characters, and each episode fills in
some of the back story on one of them. There's a doctor; an Iraqi
soldier; a has-been rock star; a fugitive from justice; a
self-absorbed young woman and her brother; a lottery winner; a
her and son; a Korean couple; a pregnant woman; and others.
Second, there's a host of unanswered questions: What is the
mysterious beast that lurks in the jungle? Why do polar bears and
wild boars live there? Why has a woman been transmitting an SOS
message in French from somewhere on the island for the last 16
years? Why do impossible wishes seem to come true? Are they
really on a physical island, or somewhere else? What is the
significance of the recurring set of numbers? And will Kate ever
give up her bad-boy fixation and hook up with Jack?
Lost did have some hiccups during the first season. Some plot
threads were left dangling for weeks, and the "oh, it didn't
really happen" card was played too often. But the strong writing
and topnotch cast kept the show a cut above most network TV. The
best-known actor at the time of the show's debut was Dominic
Monaghan, fresh off his stint as Merry the Hobbit in Peter
Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. The rest of the cast is either
unknowns or "where I have I seen that face before" supporting
players, including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, who are the
closest thing to leads. Other standouts include Naveen Andrews,
Terry O'Quinn (who's made a nice career out of conspiracy-themed
TV shows), Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Maggie Grace,
and Emilie de Ravin, but there's really not a weak link in the
cast. Co-created by J.J. Abrams (Alias), Lost left enough
unanswered questions after its first season to keep viewers
riveted for a second season. --David Horiuchi
Where Have I Seen These Castaways? (click images to find out)
Stills from Lost (click for larger image)
DVD features
Even if you saw every episode of Lost on TV--or perhaps
especially if you saw every episode--the DVD set is a must-own.
The episodes are presented in widescreen format, just as they
were broadcast on high-definition channels. (Conventional ABC-TV
broadcasts were reduced to 1.33 full-screen format.) Four of the
episodes have commentary tracks by the producing team and the
actors who were featured on certain episodes (Terry O'Quinn,
Dominic Monaghan, and Maggie Grace and Ian Sommerhalder). The
last disc has over three hours of bonus material sensibly broken
into three categories. "Departure" discusses the initial creation
of the series, the making of the pilot, and the cast (some
characters were created to fit the actors, and Evangeline Lilly's
Kate was the hardest to cast). It also includes the cast's
audition tapes and photographs by Matthew Fox. "Tales from the
Island" provides background material on seven of the episodes
plus the boars used in filming, Jimmy Kimmel's appearance on the
set, and the genesis of the Driveshaft song ("You all
everybody..."). Finally, "Lost Revealed" includes two scenes cut
from the season finale, 13 other deleted scenes (not identified
by episode, unfortunately), a blooper reel, and the cast and
crew's giddy appearance at the Museum of Television & Radio.
--David Horiuchi