Review: Lost Season One

We humans love a good mystery. I'm learning about the Elucinian Mysteries in Classical Mythology right now, and before the Greeks there were mystery cults. Not a lot has changed in the intervening years.

That said, Lost is a mystery wrapped up in an enigma and told as a riddle. And one of the best television shows I've ever seen to boot. Taken at face value, it is the tale of Oceanic Flight #815, which inexplicably crashed more than 1,000 miles off course en route to Los Angeles from Sydney.

The survivors of a plane crash are forced to live with each other on a remote island, a dangerous new world that poses unique threats of its own
What really happened? Why, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42, of course. Each episode features a cleverly integrated parallel narrative: events on the Island juxtaposed with the backstory of one of the survivors. Suffice to say that the two stories are always related, implying that more than coincidence is at work...

Reviewing the substance of Lost is tricky because there isn't much a person can say without spoiling anything. So I'll be a little more general: Basically, the biggest disrespect you could do to the story is call it "Survivor with a script." Lost is nothing like Survivor--instead, it's a compelling, character-driven drama enriched with elements of science fiction.

High praise needs to be given to more than just the writing, though. I've never seen a show better cast or acted. In terms of location, Oahu perfectly encapsulates the "godforsaken paradise" feel the creators were undoubtedly going for. And I can't praise the score highly enough. I'm frightened every time I hear the opening theme (well, more of a sound effect, really), so closely does it musically approximate a sense of imminent and predestined doom.

Hype usually has the nasty effect of raising your expectations so high that the only place to go is down. Trust me when I tell you that you won't feel that way when you're watching. Blogcritics.org

Overview
Creators:
Jeffrey Lieber
J.J. Abrams
Damon Lindelof

Release Date:
22 September 2004 (USA)
Genre:
Adventure / Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Tagline:
Everything Happens for a Reason
-IMDB

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